National telecom policy of India is in need of urgent rejuvenation. Talks and plans are in the process to formulate national telecom policy 2011 of India. The new telecom policy of India 2011 is expected to solve many problems from which its predecessor policy was suffering. Surrounded by various scams and controversies, the ministry of communication and information technology (MCIT) decided to formulate new telecom policy. The national telecom policy of India 2011 is still not ready as we come across many declarations and schemes regarding the same. We usually come across new factors and constituents of the new telecom policy on regular basis. This means the telecom policy is still under deliberations and there is no final version of the same till April 2011.
The Telecom Policy of India 2011 must incorporate important matters like Spectrum Allocation, Telecom Security, Maximum Broadband Penetration, Encryption Policy, Central Monitoring System of India, etc. says Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based law firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of India. Further, issues like Lawful Interception and maintaining a “Balance” between Security Concerns and Fundamental Rights must also be a part of the same, suggests Dalal.
India is the only country of the World where phone tapping is done without a Court Warrant and by Executive Branch of the Constitution of India, says Dalal. Phone tapping in India is “Unconstitutional” and the Parliament of India has not thought it fit to enact a “Constitutionally Sound Law” in this regard. Even the Supreme Court’s directions in PUCL case have proved futile and presently the Court is dealing with the issue once more, informs Dalal.
Telecom policy is a very crucial policy for India and every effort must be made by MCIT to make it as effective as possible. Of late, many good suggestions have been given by department of telecommunication (DoT) and the same would be part of the new telecom policy of India. DoT must incorporate the suggestions of as many stakeholders and experts as possible before coming up with the final draft of the telecom policy of India 2011.
