Corporatisation Of Dts By April Next Year

Corporatisation of Department of Telecom Services (DTS) into "India Telecom" will only take place next year and will be completed only by April 1, 2001.

Once the corporatisation process is over, DTS, which was created in October last year, will be merged back with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

During a recent Telecom Commission meeting, when the matter came up for discussion, it was said that the corporatisation will be done "keeping in mind the interests of the shareholders".

The technical evaluation of tenders for the appointment of consultants who would devise corporatisation strategies has been completed. The financial bids, however, will only be opened after the commercial conditions are checked.

 

Official sources, however, pointed out that DTS could well be closed down once it is corporatised as India Telecom. "We will only accommodate those officials who will be over and above the required level," an official added.

Last October, the Telecom Commission had decided to appoint a consultant to devise suitable strategies for the corporatisation programme and subsequently tenders were called for. The yet-to-be appointed consultant will examine various aspects of DoT's corporatisation.

The New Telecom Policy, 1999 had set 2001 as the deadline for the department's corporatisation of DoT and separation of the licencing and service aspects. "All the future relationship (competition, resource raising etc.) of MTNL / VSNL with the corporatised DoT would be based on best commercial principles," the New Telecom Policy, 1999 had said. "We will meet the deadline," a senior official said.

Post-corporatisation, the Telecom Commission will handle the policy formulation and licencing functions while India Telecom will be responsible for providing service throughout the country.