2. What is the 2G spectrum scam
about?
•Issue dates to 2008 when nine telecom companies were issued scarce airwaves and licenses for
second generation (2G) mobile phone services at Rs1,658 crore (less that $350 million) for a
pan-India operation. As many as 122 circle-wise licenses were issued.
•The opposition said that by giving the airwaves cheap, that too in the controversial manner of
first-cum-first-served basis, the exchequer had lost billions of dollarsbased on the auction of
airwaves for third generation (3G) services, which got nearly $15 billion to the exchequer, and
that for broadband access, which fetched over $8.5 billion, the notional loss was estimated at
$38 billion to the exchequer.
•A new player, Swan Telecom, bought licenses for 13 circles with the necessary spectrum for
$340 million but managed to sell a 45-per cent stake in the company to UAE's Etisalat for $900
million. This swelled its valuation to $2 billion without a single subscriber.
3. Contd…..
•Unitech, paid $365 million as license fee but sold a 60- per cent stake to Norway's
Talenor for $1.36 billion, taking its valuation to nearly $2 billion
•Another licensor, Datacom, later became Videocon Mobile and Stel now has large
stake by Baharian Telecom. The other companies are Tata Tele, Idea Cellular , Loop
Telecom, Shyam Telelink and Spice.
•Supreme Court asked the solicitor general why the prime minister had not responded
to the representation by the opposition to sanction proceedings against Raja.
4. HPCL to invest Rs13,000 cr to
augment Vizag refinery capacity
•State-owned Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) plans to invest Rs13,000 crore to almost
double the capacity of its Vizag oil refinery in Andhra Pradesh to 15 million tonnes a year by
2013-14.
•The decision to expand the Vizag refinery follows steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal group and
French oil firm Total SA walking out of a proposed USD 4 billion project to build a 15 million
tonnes per annum refinery and a 2.5 million tonnes per annum petrochemicals plant near
HPCL's 8.3 million tonnes per annum refinery at Visakhapatnam
•may add a new 180,000 barrels per day (9 million tonnes per annum) crude distillation unit
(CDU) and scrap the old 36,000 bpd (1.8 million tonnes per annum) unit at the Vizag refinery.
•HPCL currently operates three CDUs at the 8.3 million tonnes a year (166,000 bpd) Vizag
refinery. It also runs a 6.5 million tonnes a year refinery in Mumbai
5. Rupee likely to trade in 44.35 to
45.25 range against US dollar
•The euro got sold off against the dollar from 1.4072 to 1.3620
•During the week, the dollar traded in a range of 44.29 to 44.57 against the rupee.
•There has been no significant move in the dollar against the rupee as there was massive fund
inflows on account of the Power Grid FPO, which resulted in sale of dollar inflows against the rupee.
•The rupee is likely to be in the range of 44.35 to 45.25 against the dollar. There might be some
impact from events such as the yuan appreciation against the dollar, if China succumbs to pressure
to strengthen its currency
6. India will again grow at 9%: FM
•Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday said the country could soon return to high growth path to clock 9% expansion on the
back of revival in investment and private consumption
•The manufacturing sector has been showing buoyancy reminiscent of the pre-slowdown years
•the industrial output tumbled to a 17-month low of 4.4% in September after clocking 6.92% in August, raising concerns about the
strength of the recovery.
•Manufacturing, which makes up about 80% of industrial production, accounts for about 15% of India’s production of goods and
services, and a below par performance can drag down overall growth. In the first quarter of the 2010-11
•The government is still staying with the 8.5% projection for the entire year, but many economists are beginning to raise questions.
