Earlier this month, the World Bank released its latest rankings on Ease of Doing business, and India has jumped a whopping 30 ranks, the highest amongst all other countries, from rank 130 last year and 131 the year before, to now 100. Suddenly, the target of getting into the top 50 doesn\u2019t seem to be mission impossible.The overall rank jump is attributed to the fact that of the ten individual parameters, India improved in eight. For instance, the ease of paying taxes has jumped almost 20 points while other parameters like protecting minority investors, availability of credit and getting an electricity connection also saw some improvement.<\/p>

Further, India\u2019s corporate law and securities regulations were recognised as highly advanced, placing it in fourth place in the global ranking on parameter. The time taken to obtain an electricity connection in Delhi reduced from 138 days four years back to 45 days now, against a 78-days average in OECD high-income economies, the World Bank report observed.<\/p>

This put India in 29th place in that category. But India still lags in areas such as starting a business and enforcing contracts. To get to the top 50, there would have to be fundamental changes across sectors and the telecom sector would have to be on top of that list. As it is one of the few sectors where 100% FDI has been allowed, the fact is the Indian telecom sector is considered the backbone of the economy, connecting people, thereby improving macro-economic indicators and further significantly adding to the country\u2019s overall GDP growth.<\/p>

The next big chunk of reforms, once they come to the telecom sector, there will be a significant impact on almost all aspects of society and economy in the country. The telecom sector is such an essential part of a country can be seen by the fact that every 10% increase in mobile penetration rate leads to a 1.2% increase in GDP.
As essential as telecommunications is to the country, a lot more needs to be done to improve the ease of doing business aspect, especially since it is also one of the biggest FDI contributors amongst all the sectors. Earlier this year the regulator also issued a draft paper on Ease of Doing Business.<\/p>

The industry has also made submissions to the regulator for consideration. The Indian telecom sector is currently reeling under a huge cumulative debt of around INR five lakh crore, on revenues of less than INR two lakh crore, making it increasingly difficult to manage the debt. Once the telecom sector comes on track, the impact that it has on all sectors would mean the rankings would jump significantly again.<\/p>

India is among the top ten improvers this year, with improved ranking in six of the ten indicators, while its performance in absolute terms improved in nine. Now India must move further up the ladder and make India the most favourable destination for global companies. Towards this, the Indian government has to engage with the telecom sector towards creating a favourable environment for the ailing industry that is critical to overall growth of the economy. Even for the success of the Hon.Prime Minister Modi\u2019s Digital India vision an additional INR 2-3 crore need to be invested over the next couple of years. But the industry is reeling under severe financial stress and the biggest impediment is Right of Way (RoW), where access to sites is adding to the barriers in Ease of Doing Business.<\/p>

Policy alignment between the centre and states is a critical parameter in the Ease of Doing Business. As a priority, there needs to be a relook at the fundamental policies for the telecom sector. The regulatory regime has to reflect the current dynamics of the sector. Many of the existing structures and policies have to be simplified with clear timelines. This would give a real meaning to `Ease of doing Business\u2019 for
the telecom sector.<\/p>

To start with, there is an urgent need for bold sweeping reforms in the sector to make the regulatory and policy ecosystem more adaptable and in tune with the fast changing telecom sector. This will reduce scope for unnecessary cumbersome, lengthy and expensive litigation and disputes and ensure certainty cutting down risks and create a commercial environment best suited for the growth of the sector.<\/p>

Besides, appointing a designated nodal officer as a single point to receive feedback from industry and navigate issues and matters within government and the regulatory body in a time bound manner will largely benefit the sector. Appointing a designated high level officer will help in addressing various concerns of the industry. However, we expect this to be an ongoing, continuous process to ensure quick intervention.<\/p>

There are a number of day to day issues confronting the telecom sector which require immediate attention for review of various processes at the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and at other government departments. Once proper processes are in place and simplified, it will save on the resources, paperwork and man-hours. The same will lead to faster clearances, transparent working, considerable cost savings, thereby helping the digitization initiatives by the government, and even reducing the financial pressure on the sector.<\/p>

Other concerns of the industry relate to licenses, tariffs, accounts and finance besides spectrum management need immediate redressal, to improve the longer term sustainability of the sector.<\/p>

On tariffs, the telecom regulator may consider making the mobile bill (M-Bill) or e- bill as a default option for the postpaid subscribers, instead of mandatory
paper bill which is in line with government\u2019s efforts towards digitization and a greener sector.<\/p>

Similarly, payment of license fees, Wireless Planning Cell (WPC under DoT) and other such payments should be allowed via wire transfer such as RTGS or online portal, so that payment can be made by licensees directly to the credit of DoT. In the case of GST, the set-off, of license fee paid on input services against license fee payable on output services should be allowed.<\/p>

Undergoing multiplicity of audits is another matter of concern for telcos. Also the complete working of SACFA should be made paperless with a portal similar to Tarang Sanchar, which is currently being used for EMF compliance. These suggestions will not only bring huge cost savings to the industry but would also optimize and enhance work efficiency in terms of faster approvals.

Telecom regulatory body, TRAI on September 19, 2017 had released draft recommendations for ease of doing telecom business. It aims at unhindered growth of the telecom sector and ensuring that the policies and the processes are not redundant to be executed in an efficient and transparent way.<\/p>

The telecom industry and the government must work together to support each other towards achieving the visionary aims of the government. While Telecom is the backbone of the society and the economy of the country, the government therefore must take substantive steps through the IMG to resolve the long pending sectoral issues. Given the size and complexity of the Indian economy it is only through partnership that the sector and the economy can grow for a fully connected and digitally empowered India for a true ease of doing business.<\/p>","blog_img":"","posted_date":"2017-11-24 13:08:42","modified_date":"2017-12-06 12:49:39","featured":"0","status":"Y","seo_title":"Telecom sector and the ease of doing business","seo_url":"telecom-sector-and-the-ease-of-doing-business","url":"\/\/www.iser-br.com\/tele-talk\/telecom-sector-and-the-ease-of-doing-business\/2722","url_seo":"telecom-sector-and-the-ease-of-doing-business"},img_object:["","retail_files/author_1485515109_temp.jpg"],fromNewsletter:"",newsletterDate:"",ajaxParams:{action:"get_more_blogs"},pageTrackingKey:"Blog",author_list:"Rajan S Mathews",complete_cat_name:"Blogs"});" data-jsinvoker_init="_override_history_url = "//www.iser-br.com/tele-talk/telecom-sector-and-the-ease-of-doing-business/2722";">