Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea will be happy with the recent move from the defence ministry for extending the clearance timeline for laying and maintenance of undersea cables from six months to one year. Up until now, the telcos had to seek clearance for vessels and ships every six months from the defence ministry. These vessels and ships are really important for the telcos to carry out their undersea activities, which include laying and maintaining cables. According to a TOI report, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) sought for the MoD (Ministry of Defence) to push up the clearance timeline from the present six months to one year. A DoT circular recently released said that the MoD had granted initial and subsequent clearance of vessels and ships to one year or duration of the contract or period sought, whichever is less. This is definitely going to add to the ease of doing business for the telecom operators and save them crucial time in getting clearances every time. Note that the international-long distance services operators are required to take clearance from the MoD for vessels and ships and from the home ministry to involve human crew members to be involved in the process. The home ministry was already issuing the clearances for one year, and so this is a good step overall for the telecom sector.
Telcos Have Received a Lot of Help from The Govt So Far
The telecom operators in India have received a lot of help from the government recently. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has been looking after the telecom sector and its interests for the last year. The relief measures announced by the DoT brought major relief to the liquidity issues in the sector. Along with that, the relief package also made the telecom industry more investible for investors.
