Telecom spectrum auctions to be free and fair: Prasad

Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday assured the telecom industry that the auction of spectrum in the future too would be conducted in a timely, fair and transparent way.

The hallmark will be good governance and "the road map will be fully disclosed in advance to that industry can put its act together in a planned manner", he said.

The last spectrum auction, the biggest so far, that ended in March this year fetched about Rs.1.10 lakh crore to the government.

Inaugurating the first edition of FICCI's "Digital Bharat", a platform for having transformative exchanges and deliberations organized jointly with the Department of Telecommunications, Prasad said the "Digital India" programme was party-neutral, ideology-neutral and centre-state-neutral and only aimed at bridging the urban-rural divide and ensuring digital inclusion.

"I would like to see every mason and carpenter in the country using his smart phone to enhance his business and income," he added.