In a bid to speed up vacation of additional spectrum by the defence establishments, the government is all set to approve around `5 000 crore additional fund, which will be over and above `9,175 crore already cleared, for setting up a dedicated alternative communication network for the Army, Navy and the Air force.
The government’s move is aimed at increasing the availability of spectrum for civilian use.
This, in turn, would facilitate government to earn more revenue, as once spectrum is freed, it would be able to auction them to telecom companies.
Confirming this, sources in the government said, “A meeting of Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), which will be chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, is likely to approve a proposal to provide `5,000 crore, as additional fund for creation of dedicated communication network for the defence establishments. The proposal is high on the agenda of the CCEA meeting, which will meet on Tuesday.”
The amount would be over and above already approved amount of `9,175 crore for laying dedicated optical fiber for defence establishments to meet their communication requirement, they added.
The state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) is mandated to set up the alternative network by the department of telecommunications (DoT). According to DoT officials, who are involved in the process, an inter-ministerial group headed by cabinet secretary had cleared `5,000 crore, as estimated additional project cost.
The increase in project cost was sought by BSNL following stringent conditions by the defence forces. The Telecom Commission, the highest policy-making body of the DoT, approved `5,000 crore for the cost escalation in November last year only. The matter was then referred to an inter-ministerial group.
The DoT and the defence ministry had signed a memorandum of understanding in 2009, under which the defence forces were to vacate 25 MHz for 3G and 20 MHz for 2G spectrum. The DoT was to set up an exclusive and dedicated defence network.

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Pak ministry unaware of Indians in custody?
namrata biji ahuja
New Delhi, July 2

A top security official on Monday said that “we believe at least 250 Indians are in Pakistani custody, many of whom may be held by the Pakistani Army or even the Inter-Services Intelligence of which the Pakistani interior ministry may have no knowledge.” “In fact, the Pakistan interior ministry has confessed that the numbers they share with us is based on their assessment alone since other agencies like the Pakistan Army do not report to them,” the official said. The ministry of home affairs has asked Pakistan’s interior ministry to review its list by collating details from its agencies.
India and Pakistan on Monday exchanged the fresh prisoners list under the Agreement on Consular Access signed between the countries in May, 2008.
The Agreement on Consular Access makes a provision that immediate notification of any arrest and detention or imprisonment of any person of the other country shall be provided to the respective high commission.
“Our list of Pakistani prisoners consists of those who have been convicted for various crimes, including terrorist acts. Some have been chargesheeted and some are even undertrials whom we believe are Pakistanis,” a top government official said.