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Our Bureau

New Delhi, Aug. 24 The Defence is open to vacating spectrum as long as national security is not compromised and the Department of Telecommunication comes up with funds and helps create an alternative platform that can be used by the forces, said the Minister of State for Defence, Mr M.M. Pallam Raju, on Friday.

“For the growth of the telecommunication industry it is essential that spectrum is vacated. But at the same time we cannot compromise on the nation’s security. Much of the communications of the Defence is secure and that is the reason we have so much spectrum. As long as this is not compromised the forces are open to vacating the spectrum. In order to vacate spectrum, infrastructure is needed that is secure,” the Minister said on the sidelines of a seminar organised by the CII.

The Minister added that talks were on at the Inter-Ministerial level on how quickly this could be done.

“It would call for substantial expenditure and we are hoping that the Department of Telecommunication would come up with this as spectrum is used by telecommunication for commercial purposes whereas the Defence is using it only to secure the nation. It is important for the DoT to see this and also explore how they can help create an alternative platform,” Mr Raju said.

On plans to procure Multi-Role-Combat Aircraft, the Minister said that the Government planned to acquire 126 jets, although the number could increase.

“The Government will start the process to acquire 126 jets soon. The final number may go up by 70-80 jets although no final decision has taken on this as yet,” Mr Raju said.

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