Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha has been dropped from the Modi 2.0 Cabinet.
The former Minister had lost the Ghazipur Lok Sabha seat to BSP's Afzal Ansari. Sinha got 4.46 lakh votes as compared to Ansari who received 5.66 lakh votes.
Sinha had taken charge of the high-profile Telecom portfolio from Ravi Shankar Prasad in 2016.
There were reports that the Prime Minister's Office was unhappy with the Minister of State for being unable to successfully complete Modi's pet digital Indian project of BharatNet which was to connect 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats.
Also during his tenure hyper competition got to the throat of the industry and the sector bled with losses with very cheap tariffs. During his tenure the spectrum auction of 2016, the government could manage only Rs 65,000 crore when spectrum worth Rs 4 lakh crore was on the block. The next two years, there were no auction of spectrum.
The conditions of two PSUs -- BSNL and MTNL -- under the Telecom Ministry deteriorated.
--IANS
ana/sn/in
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
You’ve reached your limit of {{free_limit}} free articles this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
Already subscribed? Log in
Subscribe to read the full story →
Smart Quarterly
₹900
3 Months
₹300/Month
Smart Essential
₹2,700
1 Year
₹225/Month
Super Saver
₹3,900
2 Years
₹162/Month
Renews automatically, cancel anytime
Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans
Exclusive premium stories online
Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors
Complimentary Access to The New York Times
News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic
Business Standard Epaper
Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share
Curated Newsletters
Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox
Market Analysis & Investment Insights
In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor
Archives
Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997
Ad-free Reading
Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements
Seamless Access Across All Devices
Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app