Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

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Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

The logo of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
Abbreviation TRAI
Formation 1997
Legal status Created by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997
Purpose/focus Independent regulator
Headquarters New Delhi, India
Region served India
Key people Rahul Khullar IAS (Chairman)
Sibichen K Mathew IRS (Advisor,Telecom Regulatory Authority of India)[1]
Rajeev Agarwall (Secretary)[1]
Website www.trai.gov.in

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is the independent regulator of the telecommunications business in India.[2]

Contents

[edit] History

The policy of liberalisation that was embarked by Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao in the 1990s helped the Indian Telecom sector to grow rapidly. The government gradually allowed the entry of the private sectors into telecom equipment manufacturing, value added services, radio paging and cellular mobile services. In 1994, the government formed the National Telecom Policy (NTP) which helped to attract Foreign direct investments and domestic investments. The entry of private and international players resulted in need of independent regulatory body. As a result, The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India was established on 20 February 1997 by an act of parliament called "Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act 1997".

The mission of TRAI is to create and nurture an environment which will enable the quick growth of the telecommunication sector in the country. One of the major objectives of TRAI is to provide a transparent policy environment. TRAI has regularly issued orders and directions on various subjects like tariff, interconnections, Direct To Home (DTH) services and mobile number portability.

In 2000, the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) was constituted through an amendment of the 1997 act, through an ordinance. The primary objective of TDSAT's establishment was to release TRAI from adjudicatory and dispute settlement functions in order to strengthen the regulatory framework. Any dispute involving parties like licensor, licensee, service provider and consumers are resolved by TDSAT. Also, any direction, order or decision of TRAI can be challenged by appealing in TDSAT.[3]

[edit] Board

Per the "Telecom regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Act, 2000", the authority shall have no more than two whole-time members as well as two part-time members. As of 2012, members are:

Name Designation
Dr. Rahul Khullar Chairman
R.K.Arnold Whole time member
Vijayalakshmy K. Gupta Whole time member
H.S. Jamadagni Part-time member
Pankaj Chandra Part-time member

List of former Chairman of TRAI:

Name Tenure
S. S. Sodhi 1997-2000
M. S. Verma 2000-2003
Pradip Baijal 2003-2006
Nripendra Misra 2006-2009
A. K. Sahney March-May 2009 (Interim)
J.S.Sarma 2009-2012

[edit] Secretariat

TRAI functions through a Secretariat headed by a Secretary. All proposals for considerations are processed via Secretary, which organizes the agenda for Authority meetings (consulting with the Chairman), organizes preparation of minutes and issues regulations etc. in accordance to the meetings. The secretary is assisted by Advisors, namely Mobile Network, Interconnection & Fixed Network, BroadBand and Policy Analysis, Quality of Service, Broadcasting & Cable Services, Economic Regulation, Financial Analysis & IFA, Legal, Consumer Affairs & International Relation and RE & Administration & Personnel.Officers are selected from the premier Indian Administrative Service and Indian Revenue Service and also from the Indian Telecom Service.[4]

[edit] Bangalore Regional Office

TRAI Bangalore Regional Office is the office set up for ensuring compliance of tariff related guidelines and effective monitoring of retail tariff of telecommunications, broadcasting and cable services in the Kerala and Karnataka region. The current Advisor,Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is Dr. Sibichen K Mathew IRS.[5][6][7] Earlier TRAI has been operating only from Delhi and monitors performance of operators by relying on the data received from service providers and its own agencies. Now, the new office will help the regulator in assessing required information directly on the field. The Advisor is assisted by two Dy Advisors and 2 Senior Research Officers.[8][9][10]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named MIA.2C_.2Bcite_CMD.2C_MD (see the help page).
  2. ^ "TRAI website". Retrieved 2008-08-19. 
  3. ^ "Department of Telecommunications Ministry of Communications & IT". 
  4. ^ "TRAI Manual". 
  5. ^ http://www.babushahi.com/viewcompletenews.php?id=3622&type=recent&refresh=yes
  6. ^ http://www.trai.gov.in/WriteReadData/Tenders/Document/Tender%20-%20Hiring%20of%20Vehicles(BANGALURU).pdf
  7. ^ http://www.whispersinthecorridors.com/index_home.html
  8. ^ http://www.trai.gov.in/CustomError.aspx?aspxerrorpath=/Authority.aspx
  9. ^ http://www.business-standard.com/article/technology/telecom-regulator-to-set-up-units-in-major-cities-111121600082_1.html
  10. ^ http://gfilesindia.com/frmArticleDetails.aspx?id=290&Name=MOVING%20ON:%20IAS/IPS%20OFFICERS:

[edit] External links

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