No roaming charges from next year: Kapil Sibal

September 24, 2012

Sibal_No_Roaming_charges_CD

 

New Delhi, September 24: Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal on Monday said that mobile phone subscribers will not have to pay roaming charges from next year.

 

“From next year… Our secretary has told you that it will be free from next year,” Mr. Sibal said here in response to a query on the timing of removing roaming charges as proposed in the National Telecom Policy 2012.

 

The Minister was speaking to the media on the sidelines of the curtain raiser event of India Internet Governance Conference.

 

NTP 2012, approved in May, aims to abolish roaming charges and allow mobile phone subscribers to use same number across country without having to pay extra charges for services once they are outside their telecom circle.

 

Meanwhile, Telecom Secretary R. Chandrashekhar said the Department of Telecom (DoT) is working on Notice Inviting Applications for spectrum auction after which it will work on unified licence (UL) guidelines — also a part of the NTP 2012.

 

“We are first going to attend to all issues linked to auction. The moment NIA is issued this week, we will focus on UL. After details of full UL is worked out, the modalities for free roaming will follow,” he said.

 

As per the schedule, NIA will be issued on September 28.

 

GSM industry body COAI Director General Rajan S Mathews said he appreciated the concept of free roaming, but added that industry will have to work on details of implementation of ‘One Nation — Free Roaming.’

 

When asked about the impact on mobile phone call rates, Mathews said, “That is matter which we will have to work with TRAI (telecom regulator). TRAI is ultimately responsible for setting the tariffs...We hope that TRAI will follow due process of consultation paper.”

 

He added that in a consultation paper, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India will define what they expect and models they will use for determining tariff for nation wide free roaming.

 

 


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Agencies
June 15,2020

Nuapada, Jun 15: In a shocking incident, a 70-year-old elderly woman had to drag her 100-year-old bedridden mother on a cot to the nearby bank to withdraw pension money of Rs 1,500.

The incident came to light after a video of the woman dragging her bedridden mother on a cot to a bank in Odisha's Nuapada district went viral on social media.

The woman from Bargaon village dragged her mother on the cot after the bank official allegedly asked for physical verification. The incident took place on June 9.

"I went to the bank several times in last three months and requested the bank official to release the pension amount. However, the official informed that they would release the pension if I bring my mother to the branch," said Punjimati Dei.

Bank manager Ajit Pradhan allegedly asked Dei to bring her bedridden mother Labhe Baghel to the bank.

Her mother is an account holder under Jan Dhan Yojana of the Central government.

The Centre had announced Rs 500 monthly assistance for women Jan Dhan bank account holders from April to June in view of the COVID-19 situation.

A district administration official informed that the woman reached the bank with her mother before the manager could visit her home for the verification.

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Agencies
July 14,2020

Mumbai, Jul 14: Bhima Koregaon case accused Varavara Rao was admitted to JJ Hospital in Mumbai on Monday night.

Rao who is in Taloja proson was rushed to the hospital following complaint of dizziness.

Rao was arrested in November 2018 along with five others, for alleged links with Naxals and for inciting the violence.

On January 1, 2018, the violence at Bhima Koregaon village in Pune district left one dead and several others injured including 10 policemen.

Violence erupted after some people, reportedly with saffron flags, pelted stones at cars heading towards the village for the commemoration of 200 years of Bhima-Koregaon war on New Year's Day.

The police had filed 58 cases against 162 people.

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Agencies
July 13,2020

Jaipur, July 13: Amid a deepening political crisis in Rajasthan where the number 2 leader of the Congress party Sachin Pilot has revolted, over 200 Income Tax (I-T) sleuths raided the residences and properties of two of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s close confidants.

The Income Tax department has carried out searches at over a dozen locations linked to Congress leader Dharamender Rathore as well as jewellery firm owner Rajiv Arora, both of whom are considered close to Gehlot.

Officials said that the raids that are underway in Jaipur, Kota, Delhi, and Mumbai were done after a complaint of tax evasion was made. Under the scanner, they said, are transactions that were made outside the country.

The curious timing of the Income Tax department’s action against Gehlot’s aides has made the Congress accuse the sleuths of acting on the behest of the BJP.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted: “After all, BJP's lawyers came on the field. The Income Tax Department started raids in Jaipur. When will ED arrive?”

The Congress is facing a cliffhanger in Rajasthan after the open rebellion by deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, who on Sunday night claimed that he had the support of 30 MLAs and that Gehlot was leading a minority government in the state.

However, Congress leader Avinash Pande on Monday said 109 MLAs have signed a letter of support to the chief minister, well above the majority mark of 100. The party has issued a whip to all the MLAs, asking them to attend the Congress Legislature Party meeting at 10.30 am. 

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