Spectrum allocation to telecom operators has become such a hot issue that it is fostering a revolution in communication of the non-oral kind. Assorted eminences have started penning letters to no less than the PM, expressing their views on what?s wrong and how things can be set right, and most importantly, asking him to beware the opposing side. It all started with Bharti?s Sunil Mittal writing a letter to the DoT secretary. Vodafone?s Arun Sarin and Reliance Communications? Anil Ambani did likewise. Now, politicos and Cabinet ministers have also joined the fray. Commerce & industry minister Kamal Nath and his deputy Jairam Ramesh have also dashed off letters. Yesteryears? IT posterboy Chandrababu Naidu could not resist the temptation of putting pen to paper either. The latest are Temasek Holdings? CEO Ho Ching and Shiv Sena Parliamentary party leader in the Rajya Sabha Manohar Joshi. But what, really, is the PM reading?
Covering risks
Chanting ?health for all?, the government has tried hard to extend health insurance coverage to families below the poverty line through the shiny new tool of cross subsidies. Premiums paid by the rich, went the broad idea, would cover the risks of the poor. But the strategy doesn?t seem to have achieved the desired results, groan insurers, with so many of the rich preferring to fly overseas for treatment, which costs quite a lot?as we?re told incessantly by analysts talking about India as a perfect low-cost, high-quality medical hub for the world. Another case of incentive systems being outfoxed by private motivations?
