The runaway success of the 3G spectrum auction has prompted several central ministries and even states to try the clock auction model to allocate scarce resources. The ongoing spectrum auction is expected to fetch the government Rs 50,000-55,000 crore, as against the budgeted Rs 35,000 crore. Official sources told FE that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has already been sounded out to share the auction methodology. If the move fructifies, coal, natural gas and even liquor licences and land contracts could be auctioned by improvising DoT?s clock auction model.
Officials said that several state governments have also shown interest in applying the model for auctioning liquor licences, land and contracts awarded by the public works department (PWD).
?Our auction model is a huge success and other government departments can now improvise this tried and tested methodology to allocate similarly scarce resources. Already, requests have started coming from various central and state government departments to share the model,? a DoT official told FE. Ministries of coal, mines, petroleum & natural gas, and information & broadcasting ministries have already approached DoT so that they could also devise similar methodologies to allocate scarce resources for optimal utilisation while maximising revenues.
In the last 18 days, DoT has garnered Rs 40,054 crore from the auctions.
The 3G auctions are expected to go on for a few more days and adding the proceeds from broadband wireless access spectrum auctions, which would follow later, it would yield the government around Rs 50,000-55,000 crore. In India, coal blocks are not auctioned, but the coal ministry has mooted a proposal to auction blocks on a revenue share basis. Now, it wants to study the DoT model before finalising the methodology. The mines ministry is also working on amendments to the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation Act (MMDR) to auction resources like iron ore. Currently, iron ore mining leases are given by state governments on payment of royalty and fixing criteria like value-addition within the state. I&B ministry, which is planning to auction spectrum for the third phase for FM radio also wants to study the DoT model. For oil blocks, the petroleum ministry does conduct auctions via the national exploration licensing policy, but now it too wants to study the DoT model.
