Managing the Market: Exploring Policy Changes and Reforms in Telecom Sector in India

摘要

The debate about the role of government and market vis-a-vis development is not about who should score over whom, but about the extent to which either government and/or market serves the development process. However, the synergy between the market and the State raised issues related to accountability, transparency etc. To address these issues institutional mechanism through regulatory agencies were thought to bring better congruence with the stated role of the State and also (re) define the functions of Public Administration. The regulatory agencies did not set aside the State, but brought inclusiveness in policy formulation and implementation. Major policy changes were brought in early 1990s in India, including NPM driven reforms necessitating reorganization of administrative system to facilitate policy implementation. Since 1991, India has witnessed major policy changes in different sectors and Telecom sector has remained the most controversial one, as policy changes and concurrent reforms appears to be conflicting. This paper attempts to explore the policy changes and administrative reforms in Indian Telecom Sector, with reference to role of the executive agency, regulatory agency and judiciary as precursor to formulation of the telecom policy and implementation of the same.