KOLKATA: Telecom secretary Rakesh Garg
has warned that top Bharat Sanchar Nigam executives could face
administrative action if "delayed decisionmaking" on their part results
in a failure to meet the March 2016 deadline set by the Prime Minister's
Office for concluding the national broadband venture.
"There is a need to improve decision-making and administrative action should be taken against officers who are not taking decisions or are delaying them, which is holding up the project," said Garg, according to the minutes of a recent internal review meeting of the national broadband venture with BSNL's leadership.
Garg's ultimatum was triggered by a revelation that "all BSNL circles are lagging behind schedule in issuing work orders and in finalising tenders relating to the broadband project", the meeting minutes showed, a copy of which was reviewed by ET.
The stakes are high since the national broadband network is positioned as the communications backbone of the Modi government's .
Rs 1.13 lakh-crore 'Digital India' venture, through which it aims to deliver e-services to rural end-consumers, which could be homes, schools, hospitals, banks or other institutions. The project is already three years behind schedule.
State-run BSNL has been mandated to handle 70% of the countrywide cable laying, trenching and ducting operations, which is the most expensive piece of the national broadband project that will take high-speed internet access across the hinterlands.
The balance 30% is to be handled by PowerGrid Corporation and RailTel.
Garg reiterated at the meeting that "the national broadband rollout is being monitored at the highest level as it will form the basic infrastructure of the 'Digital India' programme", which is why, "all BSNL field units should take responsibility of successfully concluding tendering and finalising work orders".
BSNL could not be reached immediately for comment.
The latest developments come at a time when the DoT is looking to involve private firms, a mix of infrastructure providers, telcos and content developers, to speed up the national broadband rollout.
It is also keen to leverage the renewed interest in the country's technology space among top foreign investors, especially in the US and Japan, after a debilitating image crisis post the Vodafone retrospective tax case and the 2G scam. Global firms such as Google, Facebook and Microsoft are known to be vying to deploy alternative technologies to offer last-mile broadband links in India's inaccessible regions to provide access to high-speed internet.
Sources : economictimes
"There is a need to improve decision-making and administrative action should be taken against officers who are not taking decisions or are delaying them, which is holding up the project," said Garg, according to the minutes of a recent internal review meeting of the national broadband venture with BSNL's leadership.
Garg's ultimatum was triggered by a revelation that "all BSNL circles are lagging behind schedule in issuing work orders and in finalising tenders relating to the broadband project", the meeting minutes showed, a copy of which was reviewed by ET.
The stakes are high since the national broadband network is positioned as the communications backbone of the Modi government's .
Rs 1.13 lakh-crore 'Digital India' venture, through which it aims to deliver e-services to rural end-consumers, which could be homes, schools, hospitals, banks or other institutions. The project is already three years behind schedule.
State-run BSNL has been mandated to handle 70% of the countrywide cable laying, trenching and ducting operations, which is the most expensive piece of the national broadband project that will take high-speed internet access across the hinterlands.
The balance 30% is to be handled by PowerGrid Corporation and RailTel.
Garg reiterated at the meeting that "the national broadband rollout is being monitored at the highest level as it will form the basic infrastructure of the 'Digital India' programme", which is why, "all BSNL field units should take responsibility of successfully concluding tendering and finalising work orders".
BSNL could not be reached immediately for comment.
The latest developments come at a time when the DoT is looking to involve private firms, a mix of infrastructure providers, telcos and content developers, to speed up the national broadband rollout.
It is also keen to leverage the renewed interest in the country's technology space among top foreign investors, especially in the US and Japan, after a debilitating image crisis post the Vodafone retrospective tax case and the 2G scam. Global firms such as Google, Facebook and Microsoft are known to be vying to deploy alternative technologies to offer last-mile broadband links in India's inaccessible regions to provide access to high-speed internet.
Sources : economictimes
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