The Muslim Identity and the Politics of Fundamentalism in Kashmir -

This paper examines the role of religion in the formation and assertion of political identity in Kashmir. The issue has been highlighted by the rise of Islamic militancy in the 1990s. Four aspects are examined: the meaning of Islam for the people of Kashmir; the role of Islam in the formation of Kashmiri political identity; the secularization of this political identity; and the implications for the politics of fundamentalism. The paper concludes that despite the sharpening of their Muslim identity, the logic of Kashmiri politics continues to be governed by the demand for autonomy - a question which remains largely non-communal. The basic issue for the people still remains the right of the political community to determine its own political future.

Spectrum Refarming in Sri Lanka: Lessons for Policy Makers and Regulators

The commercial potential of wireless applications has brought spectrum policies to the forefront of regulatory arena. In the context of rapidly increasing demands on spectrum, regulators have to adopt refarming so as to be able to provide spectrum for new services. A variety of models have been chosen by different countries. This paper documents the approach and process adopted by Telecom Regulatory Commission, Sri Lanka (TRCSL) for refarming of spectrum and draws lessons for policy makers and regulators. Sri Lanka was among the early countries in Asia not only to introduce telecom reforms, but also commercial wireless services (mobile and WLL). It may appear that TRCSL’s quick introduction of wireless services gave a head start to Sri Lanka, but the earlier ad-hoc processes led to a situation where spectrum refarming had to be done very quickly subsequently, imposing additional costs on operators and regulators. While realignment was triggered by the need for mobile operators to adopt standard technology, this opportunity could have been strategically used by TRCSL to review spectrum allocations across all the bands, thus allowing faster deployment of digital services. The open consultation process adopted by TRCSL had reduced the risk of “regulatory capture” and it was able to leverage the refarming initiative to bring equity in quantum of spectrum allocated between incumbent and new operators. The study highlights that for rapid proliferation of wireless technologies, a forward looking approach is required not only for managing spectrum but also removal of restrictions on handsets, whose price is a critical aspect for penetration in a developing country context.

Assessing the Changing Employment Profiles in the Telecom Sector: Implications for Education and Training

Telecom sector in India has been growing very fast and changing very rapidly in service delivery mechanisms used, target segments addressed, technogical platforms for service delivery etc. Globally also the growth scenario is very positive. This means that this sector offers employment opportunities that are attractive. In order to exploit these opportunities, the sector needs people with the approppriate employment profiles that match the changing requirements both in atributes and numbers. However, the current education system is not equipped to provide the requisite profiles. This paper identifies and quantifies the skill gap both in terms of focus areas and numbers by segmenting the sector. It suggest directions in which the change must happen. It also reviews innovative approaches in the private and government sector in India and abroad with a view to assess the adapatability of these approaches on a larger scale in India.

Comparison of Privatization Processes of Telecom Services in India and Brazil

Apart from being BRIC countries, what India and Brazil have in common is a large service sector that contributes significantly to the GDP. The service sector contributed 66% to the Brazilian GDP and 59% to the Indian GDP in 2010. Telecommunication services are a significant part of it in both the countries. This paper compares the regulatory processes of privatization of telecom services in these countries and the consequences of these on the telecom firms broadly and on the sector as a whole. Indian companies, facing harsh competition and having refined their business models to compete in this environment acquired the necessary expertise to foray abroad, opportunistically building their businesses. The highly competitive regulatory policies in India, led to the emergence of innovative business models and creation of large domestic companies both in services and infrastructure segment and consequently acquiring the necessary expertise to foray abroad. Brazilian regulatory policies focused on financially sound business and were open to investment by operators in other countries. Facing difficult domestic situation, the operators from Europe saw the Brazilian market as a growth opportunity. The paper concludes that although both in Brazil and India, the objective of the telecom regulatory policies was to bring in privatization and competition, the variations in models followed by the two countries had led to sectoral outcomes that are very different. Brazilian telecom sector had shown higher penetration, both for telecom services in general and broadband in particular but domestic companies, other than one, which too was recently partially acquired by Portugal Telecom, have not emerged. Phased and controlled FDI in India combined with the hyper competitive scenario has led to the emergence of Indian telecom firms that have become significant global players.

Spectrum Allocation for 3G in Philippines: Implications for Policy Makers and Regulators

The commercial potential of wireless applications has brought spectrum policies to the forefront of regulatory arena. The visibility of the telecom sector and the prior experience of 3G licensing in Europe and UK have made several Asian regulators and policy makers wary of using auctions. This paper details out the beauty contest approach adopted by NTC to allocate 3G licenses and the issues that arose as a consequence and highlights the influence of global developments (European and UK 3G auctions) on domestic spectrum allocation processes. The adoption of the beauty contest approach and fixed license fee was justified by NTC on the grounds of ensuring lower prices to consumers but it led to criticism that it was a clear violation of law, as NTC was mandated to promote competition. In this context, auctions would have been a better and more economically efficient process. The case study highlights the importance of incorporating economic principles, design of a transparent evaluation criteria and communication of the same to the bidders prior to the event. Policy makers need to recognize that well designed auctions are transparent mechanism to allocate scarce resource to those entities who value it most. While beauty contests may appear to be simple mechanisms to administer, lack of clarity in design could lead to non transparency and subsequent possibility of litigation and delays. The study also brings out that although an open consultative approach in the early stages may appear to delay the process, in the long run, it leads to more transparent and robust solutions.

Business model innovations and ICT based national financial inclusion programs: An Indian case study

--Mobile Banking,Low Income Segment,National ICT Framework,Financial Inclusion,Business Model Innovation,Value Creation and Appropriation,Sart-ups