Kumar Mangalam Birla meets Kapil Sibal, discusses telecom issues

NEW DELHI: Telecom minister Kapil Sibal met Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla on Thursday, continuing his engagement with the scam-tainted industry to assure level playing field to all players.

They discussed issues ranging from creation of a non-discriminatory policy environment and measures for building greater confidence among telcos, said a person privy to the discussions. The minister and Mr Birla also discussed steps to ensure future growth of the sector, he said.

Mr Sibal had met Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal, Tata group chairman Ratan Tata and Reliance Communications chairman Anil Ambani earlier. Mr Sibal is expected to meet Vodafone Essar CEO Martein Pieters soon. The telecom minister declined to share the details of the meeting, but said it was along the lines of his earlier meetings with industry captains.

“The agenda was same. Allocation of more spectrum, level-playing field for everyone and confidence building. We’re here to build, not destroy the sector,” he said. Mr Birla and Mr Sibal are understood to have discussed the gamut of telecom policy issues, including the need for a more efficient spectrum allocation policy.

“Among other key reference points was the need to ensure greater stability in telecom policy-making since mobile phone companies will be spending billions of dollars to build 3G networks in coming months,” said a person close to the AV Birla group.

“Mr Birla urged Mr Sibal to expedite the process to restore business confidence in the telecom space, especially in the backdrop of the 2G scam since established national players wished to remain invested in the country and were here for the long haul,” said a communications ministry official.

The country’s biggest scam, involving a notional loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore to the exchequer, had led to former telecom minister A Raja’s resignation, exposing the government to a relentless attack by the Opposition that questioned the government’s credibility.

Shortly after taking over, Mr Sibal had proposed that the government and industry jointly work out a new policy framework for the sector.