Kapil Sibal seen as a clean up man

Sibal's elevation to the communication minister is widely seen as a 'clean up' act by both the industry and the ministry insiders.

While Raja's departure has led to much excitement in the big telecom companies who see the balance tilting in their favor, some of Raja's own staff were rumored to have distributed sweets to celebrate his departure.

 

"Among the most intelligent and sharpest people you will ever meet," is how a prominent Supreme Court lawyer, who has matched wits with Sibal many times, put it. Sibal also has a reputation for being 'clean' -- a tag attached to ministers who don't expect monetary compensation for pushing through changes -- and a far cry from the ministry under the DMK. "The ministry will not be like it used to be, under Sibal," pointed out an industry official.

 

Sibal's comments -- laid with caution -- seemed to confirm his mandate to clean up the cobwebs of corruption. "Please give me time to look at the issues. Once I fully grasp the issue, I will come to you. I have not seen a single file," he said. "We have to take steps diligently. We will try our best to do what is correct,” he added. Asked what could be the reason for choosing him for the job, he said he did not know.

 

The rise of 62 year old Sibal has been meteoritic after he first became an additional solicitor-general in December 1989-1990 and later held several positions in the legal profession and inducted into the UPA-I as science & technology minister though everybody expected that he would be in the law ministry.

 

Sibal's appointment is celebrated by the big telecom players -- Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular, who were irked with Raja for disturbing what used to be a cozy three-way market.
Interestingly, the two big industrial conglomerates in telecom who also benefited from Raja's policies -- the Tata Group and the Anil Ambani group -- were hardly mourning his departure. "Raja was always seen as a targeting the big players," pointed out an industry official.

 

Raja's departure, however, is likely to cause trouble to some corporate players -- especially those who benefited from his handing out of licenses. Many players, including Loop Telecom -- which has a the Ruia's of Essar as its shareholders, Swan Telecom (since renamed to Etisalat-DB and controlled by the Balwa real estate group), Videocon & S-Tel.

According to industry sources, the telecom regulator is already in the process of framing guidelines for the take-back of spectrum from the players who are yet to start their services in all their service areas. While Etisalat-DB and Loop are yet to start services in all or most of their areas, Videocon and S-Tel are have rolled out in many of theirs.

 

Industry was also abuzz with speculation that the Congress itself may have had a part in the drama leading up to the ouster of Raja. Some point out that the former IT secretary, R Chandrasekhar, who is reputed for his honesty, was appointed as telecom secretary two months ago -- an early sign of an intent to clean up.

 

The mood in Sanchar Bhavan, that houses the department of Telecom (DoT), was one of great relief as Kapil Sibal took over. Some officials at DoT celebrated the news by distributing sweets. “Illogical dictatorship that one witnessed in the Raja regime has come to a close, at least for now,” a source stressed.

 

On whether Sibal would change things for the better in the telecom sector, an official said, “He would definitely be better news than Raja.” Sibal may not have done anything dramatically positive for the HRD sector, but he’s seen as a straightforward and upright minister, he added.

 

Even as many DoT officials were pleased with the UPA government’s decision to remove Raja, some have reason to worry, a source said. Some bureaucrats, linked with Raja’s policies, would be thoroughly investigated, and may have to finally go, the source added.

 

Among regulations and policies, it will be interesting to see how price is fixed on additional 2G spectrum held by some of the established GSM players. Also in the offing is a policy on merger and acquisition in the telecom sector, an industry representative pointed out. Then perhaps one would know who gains and who loses after Raja’s ouster.