The Hindu Business Line : Pitroda suggests level field for BSNL, MTNL

THE telecom scenario has changed much in the past two decades, with over 50 million users in the country, but a lot more could have been achieved if the focus had been on revenue sharing instead of licensing fees, according to Mr Sam Pitroda, Chairman of WorldTel.

Mr Pitroda, who was in town to address the students of the Indira Institute of Management, added: "It is all part of growing up. Now our aim should be to reach the target of 100 million users in a very short time.''

Is it an achievable target? "Of course. Sell the telecom sector to the public or to its employees.''

For this to happen, MTNL and BSNL would have to be given more flexibility by removing the long list of rules and policies they have to follow.

"They should not be strangled by the Government.''

On rural telephony, he said that BSNL must be given incentives and allowed to utilise the fund of Rs 1,500 crore which has been earmarked for this purpose but kept under lock currently.

Among his other initiatives, Mr Pitroda, who is also Director of Indian Institute of Design, Chicago, is a slum development programme.

The pilot project had been initiated but the investments that would go into it were yet to be decided, he said.

"His other interest, the Bangalore-based Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Traditional Medicines, set up in 1993, has so far been able to preserve the genetic pool of 8,000 plants.

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