The Advisor to the Prime Minister, Mr Sam Pitroda, and the Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission, Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, are to assist the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), probing the irregularities in telecom licensing, spectrum allocation and their pricing.

They are among a select group of experts roped in to help unravel the maze of telecom policy prescriptions and suggest measures to strengthen the policy framework.

The select group of experts will interact with JPC members in the coming days to provide better understanding on technology developments in the telecom sector and also on the economic issues relating to spectrum pricing, sources said. Both Mr Pitroda and Mr Ahluwalia have the rank of Cabinet Ministers.

The JPC was formed in March this year to look into the telecom policy pursued from 1998 to 2009 including the allocation and pricing of spectrum.

CAG Presentation

Meanwhile, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), Mr Vinod Rai appeared before the JPC on Monday and made presentations on the telecom related audit reports tabled in Parliament in the years 2000, 2004, 2006 and 2010. “The discussions were inconclusive. We have sought information on the comments made by various Government departments to the draft reports of CAG,” Mr P.C. Chacko, JPC Chairman, told reporters here.

Some of the JPC members wanted to know whether the CAG had before coming with a presumptive loss factored in the TRAI's policy recommendation that spectrum of 800, 900 and 1800 MhZ should not be auctioned, Mr Chacko said. He said that CAG is expected to come back with a reply to the JPC on this question.

Mr Rai noted that calculating the presumptive loss on 2G spectrum allocation was within the public auditor's mandate and that the CAG had “acted within its mandate”, Mr Chacko added.

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