70% of govt 3G goal already achieved
Going by the current pace of bidding in the first 8 days, the proceeds from the auction would more than come handy to the UPA government to bridge the steep fiscal deficit.
The much delayed 3G (third generation) telecom spectrum auction is going as per the government plan.
Going by the current pace of bidding in the first 8 days, the proceeds from the auction would more than come handy to the UPA government to bridge the steep fiscal deficit.
The government has been able to garner over 70% of its target revenue in just 8 days of 3G spectrum auction. While the broadband wireless access (BWA) bidding is yet to start, 3G auction is likely to continue for some more days. Therefore, the government is expected to exceed its target of raising Rs 35,000 crore from 3G and BWA auction.
At the end of play on Monday, the pan-India collection stood at Rs 24,622 crore, if one was to add the money that state-owned BSNL and MTNL would pay to the government.
The provisional winning bid in Delhi more than doubled from the reserve price, and that in Mumbai almost rose 100% from the base rate. Delhi’s winning price on Monday was Rs 691.20 crore, while Mumbai’s was Rs 635.38 crore. The reserve price for these metros and other A circle states was Rs 320 crore each.
In A circle, Tamil Nadu also showed spark by breaching the winning price of Rs 600 crore on Day 8 of the auction. Gujarat, which has been showing a lot of promise through the past week, has now gone down in ranking at Rs 549.55 crore.
Meanwhile, there was a surprise in B Circle on Monday. Uttar Pradesh West, which was never on the top in this circle, rose to the number one position with a winning price of Rs 244.19 crore, more than double of the reserve price of Rs 120 crore in B Circle. UP (East), the winner so far in this circle, was close to UP West at Rs 235.50 crore.
The maximum pan-India bid price on Monday touched Rs 6,067.56 crore, 73.3% more than the reserve price of Rs 3,500 crore. It was 6.25% higher than the previous day’s pan-India bid price of Rs 5,710.36 crore.
In C circle, there was no variation again. Bihar was on top with Rs 32.76 crore, while others were at around Rs 30 crore each, which is the reserve price in C circle.