New Delhi, Jan 21 (IANS) The union cabinet Wednesday ended an eight-year-long dispute of spectrum sharing between the defence and telecom sectors by earmarking bands for exclusive use of the former while also specifying use of remaining airwaves for civilian purposes in areas such as civil aviation and space.
The Cabinet Committe on Economic Affairs (CCEA) also approved four-laning of two key national highway sections in Jammu and Kashmir.
Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told the media after a cabinet meeting that nine slots will be for exclusive use of defence in between 3 MHz and 40 gigahertz.
"Today, I met (Defence Minister) Manohar Parrikar with our officials and discussed the matter. This matter (spectrum swapping) was pending for eight years. Defence released 5 MHz of 2,100 bands for telecom usage," Prasad said.
"This shows the manner in which our government takes effective decisions," he added.
Prasad said spectrum was mainly used by defence, communications, space, civil aviation and information and broadcasting.
"We had to take a balanced view of all these things," he said.
The telecom ministry had earlier proposed to exchange 15 Mhz spectrum it holds in the 1,900 Mhz band with same quantum of airwaves held by the defence ministry in the 2,100 Mhz. The 2,100 Mhz band is used for 3G telecommunications services.
"Swapping of 15 MHz in the frequency band of 1,900 MHz with the telecommunications has been permitted," the minister said.
Regarding "harmonisation" of defence band between telecom and defence, Prasad said: "The band in the 1,700-2,000 MHz is required to be harmonised. The cabinet has approved that this harmony must be done within a period of one year."
Prasad said there were certain issues where more clarity was needed.
He said the area within 50 km of India's borders will be demarcated as defence interest zone.
"In peace time, the telecom operation that we will do, we will intimate defence. In operation times, those will come under their jurisdiction," he said.
Prasad, however, said there were certain issues in nine slots where some more work was needed.
"Therefore, 31 slots are those where defence use has to coexist with other usage. Like space, broadcasting, civil aviation and others."
However, no decision on the reserve price of the 3G spectrum was taken.
India's telecom regulator Jan 15 said the reserve price of third generation (3G) spectrum was what it had recommended but noted that sufficient spectrum should be available in the 2,100 megahertz (MHz) band otherwise the auction's purpose will be defeated.
The TRAI Dec 31 had recommended a base price of Rs.2,720 crore per megahertz for the 2,100 Mhz band as against pan-India reserve price of Rs.3,500 crore per MHz in the 2010 auction of 3G spectrum.
The next round of spectrum auction in 800, 900, 1,800 and 2,100 megahertz (MHz) will start Feb 25.
The CCEA also approved the four-laning of the Ramban-Banihal and Udhampur-Ramban sections of the national highways in Jammu and Kashmir.
Work on the projects would be done under the National Highways Development Project (NHDP) Phase-II.
The estimated cost of the Ramban-Banihal section will be Rs.1,623.98 crore which includes cost of land acquisition, resettlement, rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities. The total length of the road will about 32 km.
For the Udhampur-Ramban section, the cost is estimated to be Rs.1758.68 crore and the length is 40.07 km.
The projects will provide all-weather-connectivity from Jammu to the Kashmir Valley.
President condoles film producer Daggubati Ramanaidu's death
New Delhi, Feb 19 (IANS) President Pranab Mukherjee Thursday condoled the death of film producer Daggubati Ramanaidu, saying the film industry has lost a creative personality who left an indelible
Basant Panchami 2024: When and why is Basant Panchami celebrated? Know its religious and environmental importance
Basant Panchami 2024: Basant Panchami is one of the most special festivals of the Hindu religion. Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, is worshiped on this day. This festival is celebrated on the
Over 1.4 lakh visit Mughal Gardens in first week
New Delhi, Feb 22 (IANS) Over 1,40,000 people visited the Mughal Gardens of the Rashtrapati Bhavan in the first week of being thrown open for public viewing, an official statement said here
Corona vaccine: Pakistan relies on China and Russia For Vaccine, but the road is not easy
While the program to introduce the Corona vaccine in India will be started on a war footing across the country from January 16, many countries in South Asia will have to wait a little longer for this
Ghazipur & Tikri Border Updates: The work of opening the borders of Delhi closed for 11 months in the farmers' movement started
The work of removing the cement impasse is going on with the removal of barricades on the Tikri border of Delhi-Haryana and Ghazipur border of Delhi-UP. It is being told that by Friday evening, the
Center will give 10 lakh jobs in one and a half year: Opposition called PM's announcement a jumla, asked what happened to 2 crore jobs
The central government has announced to recruit 10 lakh posts in the next one and a half years. These recruitments will be done on vacant posts in various departments and ministries of the Central
IND vs IRE: What Kohli and Rishabh Pant could not do, Jasprit Bumrah did it; These records made in the first T20
India started with a win in the T20 series against Ireland. He defeated the hosts by two runs based on the Duckworth-Lewis method in the rain-affected first match played in Dublin on Friday (August
Raksha Bandhan: Know who is the actress playing the role of Akshay Kumar's elder sister? Work done in a film on Kashmiri Pandits
The trailer of actor Akshay Kumar's film Raksha Bandhan has been released. Akshay's four sisters are shown in the trailer, whose marriage is on the actor's head. Dowry is coming in the way of marriage
World Cup: New Zealand struggle to win against Scotland
Dunedin, Feb 17 (IANS) A commendable bowling performance set up New Zealand’s three wicket victory against Scotland in a cricket World Cup Pool A match here Tuesday.The Cup co-hosts, among
Questions arose after the Bijapur Naxalite attack: Was the strategy of the security forces weak, the top officers hurriedly launched the operation for adventure?
In the Naxalite attack on 3 April in Bijapur, Chhattisgarh, 23 soldiers were killed. The attack has raised questions about the strategy and operation of the officers sitting at the top level.
