Trai wants more control on cable pricing
New Delhi: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has asked for amendments to the law that specifies its role and governs its functioning and once the changes are legislated the regulator will have more teeth that will empower it to ensure effective interconnection between networks and also impose fines on recalcitrant service providers.

The specific amendments proposed include increasing the tenure of the chairperson and members from the present three years to five (the practice in other regulatory bodies like Sebi, IRDA, CEA), power to enforce compliance of its directives in the form of penal provisions and the sole authority to determine and fix cable television (broadcast) tariffs.

The Trai Act was enacted in 1997 and subsequently amended in 2000, to separate the regulatory and dispute settlement functions through the creation of the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal.

Trai chairman Nripendra Misra, a former secretary of the Department of Telecom (DoT), recently wrote a letter to the present DoT Secretary Dinesh Shankar Mathur, with a copy marked to Information and Broadcasting Secretary SK Arora, suggesting the changes.

The letter cites examples like cases relating to the enforcement of tariff orders and to ensure effective interconnection between service providers.

The Trai Act has very weak penal provisions, which lack deterrence. For any breach, a criminal complaint has to be filed in a magistrate's court, with the subsequent process taking many years, the latter said.
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Ban on colas could affect foreign investment: US cautions India
New Delhi: The US government has cautioned that the recent ban on the US cola majors by state governments could affect investment in the country.

A large US trade mission, slated to be one of the biggest delegations ever from the US, led by the US undersecretary for International Trade, Franklin L Lavin, is on its way to India.

Lavin has said that at a time when India is trying to attract and retain foreign investment, it would be unfortunate if the discussions were dominated by those who did not want to treat foreign companies fairly. The Centre for Science & Environment (CSE) has accused Coca-Cola and PepsiCo of allowing high levels of pesticides in their soft drinks. Subsequently, six states had imposed partial to full bans on the sale of the soft drinks.

There is a fear among the business community here that US companies may be discouraged from investing in India due to this ban, especially at a time when a number of high-level interactions are planned between the US and India. The US department of commerce has been inviting companies from all sectors to participate in the US trade mission.
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Nationwide high alert sounded
New Delhi: Security forces have been put on high alert across the country with anti-terrorist commandos positioned at vital installations like nuclear plants and airports before Independence Day.

The threat this year is believed to be mainly from Bangladesh-based Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami and Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen Bangaldesh, who are suspected to have entered into an alliance with the homegrown SIMI that has been banned.

New Delhi, which will witness the main celebrations, has been turned into a fortress with gun-toting personnel of Delhi Police and paramilitary forces seen guarding markets, railway bridges and tracks and flyovers.

These steps were taken following intelligence reports that terrorists were planning to carry out suicide attacks at Shantivan, the memorial of first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, and Chandni Chowk in the old quarter of Delhi.
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