Spectrum fiasco overpricing fallout
The just-concluded telecom auctions are a spectacular (तमाशे का/ दर्शनीय) failure from the point of view of raising revenue and selling what was offered.
The government will get this fiscal (वित्तीय/ राजस्व) only Rs 32,000 crore of the Rs 56,000 crore it had targeted from spectrum auctions (नीलामी) a 43 per cent shortfall (कमी होना) .
Only 41 per cent of the 2,353 MHz of spectrum offered could be sold. The reason is not far to seek. This self-inflicted (स्वयं प्रवृत्त/स्वयं के लिए नुक्सान करना) blow to fiscal health is the direct result of the government setting too high a reserve price for the 700, 800 and 900 MHz bands, which remained unsold except for 15 per cent of the offer in 800. The reserve price was several times the price of 1MHz of like spectrum per capita in rich countries.
The government must learn from this experience and not make the mistake of setting high reserve prices in future spectrum auctions. A high base price is an unwarranted (अनपेक्षित/अकारण) distortion (विरूपण) .
A reason often cited ( उल्लेख करना/उद्धरण देना) to justify high base prices in auctions is possible indictment (अभियोग /अभ्यारोपण/ कलंक) the so-called 2G scam report by CAG Vinod Rai, which used the results of the 2010 auctions to estimate (आकलन/अनुमान लगाना) the fair value of spectrum.
This excuse does not wash. Subsequent (आगामी/उत्तरवर्ती) auctions in 2012, 2013 and even 2015, in which companies had to perforce (मजबूरन/लाचारी से) bid high to stay on in business, revealed pricing far lower than in 2010.
Even without the conceptual correction required, of taking into account the economic benefits of low-priced spectrum, including faster growth and the higher tax revenues that result, there is no justification for keeping the base price high.
A competitive bidding process would discover the optimal price, if the base price is not set too high to thwart (विफल/बिगाड़ना/ नकाम बनाना) bidding altogether. Unlike coal or other minerals, spectrum has no globally traded price.
Its value is location specific. Nor does spectrum get used up, it just gets used over and over again, creating value. Spectrum use generates network effect: the more the number of people on the network, the more the value of being on the network for everyone. Keep spectrum prices low, focus on expanding the numbers on the network, maximize the value created, and target a share of that value as tax revenue.
Spectacular (ad)
In a dramatic and eye-catching way. तमाशे का/ दर्शनीय
Synonyms: Dramatic, Marked, Eye-Catching, Discernible
Example: The government policies regarding the auctions of Spectrum proved to be spectacularly failed.
Fiscal (ad)
Relating to government revenue, especially taxes वित्तीय/ राजस्व
Synonyms: Financial, Money Related, Commercial, Monetary
Example: The blunders of the government were open to a united attack, and Mr Chamberlain's tariff-reform movement in 1903 provided a new rallying point in defense of the existing fiscal system.
Shortfall (n)
A deficit of something required or expected. कमी होना
Synonyms: Deficiency, Dearth, Lack, Insufficiency
Example: Unfortunately, as soon as he cleared the shortfall the markets recovered dramatically.
Inflict (v)
Cause (something unpleasant or painful) to be suffered by someone or something. प्रवृत्त/नुक्सान करना
Synonyms: Impose, Penalize, Scourge
Example: They cannot destroy the strong, but they can inflict significant damage.
Unwarranted (ad)
Not justified or authorized. अनपेक्षित/अकारण
Synonyms: Unforeseen, Without Reference To, In Expectant, Causeless
Example: It is also unwarranted to start with the expectation that everything in the world should be explained by one principle, and it is a needless restriction of our means to expect unity of method.
Distortion (n)
The action of distorting or the state of being distorted. विरूपण
Synonyms: Deformation, Disfigurement, Defacement, Mutilation
Example: The distortion of the countries represented would thus increase with the distance, north and south, from this central parallel.
Cite (v)
Referring as an evidence for or justification of an argument or statement. उल्लेख करना/उद्धरण देना
Synonyms: Mention, Refer, Quote
Example: This report cites another example which is perhaps more closely related to our discussion.
Indictment (n)
A formal charge or accusation of a serious crime. अभियोग /अभ्यारोपण/ कलंक
Synonyms: Imputation, Allegation, Arraignment
Example: Theological historians from that time forward have perpetuated the indictment that Erasmus sided with neither party in the struggle for religious truth.
Estimate (v)
Roughly calculate or judge the value, number, quantity, or extent of. आकलन/अनुमान लगाना
Synonyms: Presume, Expected calculation, Take The Gauge Of, Evaluation
Example: “Make a fair estimate when we find ourselves situated close to one star”, said the astronaut.
Subsequent (ad)
Coming after something in time; following. आगामी/उत्तरवर्ती
Synonyms: Consecutive, Successive, Following, Latter
Example: The point I'm trying to make is, we lack confirmation, especially in view of subsequent events.
Perforce (adv)
To be done necessarily or inevitability, by force of circumstances. मजबूरन/लाचारी से
Synonyms: Compulsively, Helplessly, Involuntarily
Example: Sometimes the circumstances are made so politically constraint that companies have to follow the policies in a perforce manner.
Thwart (v)
Prevent (someone) from accomplishing something. विफल/बिगाड़ना/ नाकाम बनाना
Synonyms: Ruin, Aggravate, Restrain
Example: A strong and energetic party endeavored to thwart the working of the new order, and matters came to a climax on the death of William IV.
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