With the highly encouraging public auction of 3G Spectrum, the Department of Telecommunications has set the ball rolling for an unprecedented set of quality bidding rules in the country. Bureaucracy Today spoke to one of its architects, JS Deepak, who is a Joint Secretary in the DoT. He takes us through the tough bidding process.
Department of Telecommunications Jt. Secretary Deepak is a very relieved man today. A month ago he was at the heart of intense negotiations, bargaining, quoting prices and a bidding process which was keenly observed and scrutinized by the media and industry in the country and abroad.
Deepak was indeed involved in one of the most crucial assignments ever, deciding the fate of mobile telephony in India. The much awaited electronic public auction of 3G Spectrum was a novel idea in the country and it had its detractors and challenges. But the DoT team with support from the EGoM, including cabinet ministers, and with the Finance Ministry’s directions, completed the complicated task within 34 days, after a delay of about a year by the Defence Ministry in releasing the required spectrum.
Remembering the 183 rounds of the intense bidding process, Deepak says, “3G Spectrum auction was one of the major assignments I got and touchwood it concluded in the best way we expected. Everything is transparent and accountable.” After the 2G spectrum scam, the media was interested in every small detail of the spectrum bidding this time and the DoT ensured that the Press gets all the information it wanted.
To keep the system transparent, both the bidders and the media were told about the complete bidding process by demonstrations and training through the DoT website
Deepak points out, “Our aim was to ensure transparency in the spectrum allocation, ensure a market-driven price, maximize government revenue and improve the quality of services for the consumers. It was a win-win idea for all”.
An IIM Ahmedabad alumnus and a former Citibank employee, Deepak recognized the need and insisted upon private participation in the auction process. As a result, Rothschild India and UK-based Dot.Econ were involved in designing and determining bidding economics and technicalities.
Three people, including Deepak, used to sit for hours together designing and deciding a foolproof bidding process. “We used to gather at 9 am in the morning and continue till late in the evenings putting the auction mechanism in order,” remembers Deepak. And surely their hard work paid off and the bidding went on to earn the Government a whopping Rs 67,719 crore when it was expecting only Rs 35,000 crores combined with the BWA (Broadband Wireless Access) auctions, which followed later on.
Deepak is a man who enjoys doing interesting things in life. He had a premier B school degree, a lucrative job and easy life ahead. But he chose to experiment and do something more meaningful for the nation and joined the IAS. Today, he is already a part of something “very interesting” that will change the way we use our mobile phones forever. BT wishes him all the best.
