8.6.10

Spectrum sale set to cross Rs 1 lakh cr

The government’s revenue from telecom spectrum auctions is set to cross the Rs 1 lakh crore mark, against the Rs 35,000 crore figure projected in the Union Budget. While the government has already earned Rs 67,719 crore from licence fees for 3G spectrum, bids for broadband wireless access (BWA) in all the 22 circles touched Rs 10,652 crore on Monday. Three licences being issued in each circle, translates into a revenue of Rs 31,956 crore and counting. Combined proceeds from the 3G and BWA auctions are calculated at Rs 99,675 crore, and the BWA spectrum sale is still continuing. The Rs 65,000 crore extra that the government will earn from the spectrum auctions will bring down its fiscal deficit to around 4.5% from the 5.5% projected in the budget.

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