The 2G Spectrum Scam

One of the fundamental problems that has been plaguing India ever since Independence has been corruption, especially at the national level. However, with a competitive media industry that's trying its hardest to hold the leaders accountable, the public is increasingly becoming more conscious and aware of the criticality of the situation.

Amongst the numerous scams, both in the public and corporate sectors, that were brought to light in 2010, the 2G spectrum scam probably hit the hardest. Government officials, including the then Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Mr. A. Raja, were accused of illegally undercharging mobile service providers for frequent allocation licenses, which they would use to create 2G subscriptions for cell phones. As per the report submitted by the Comptroller and Auditor General based on money collected for 3G licenses, the nine companies that purchased the licenses in 2008 paid the telecommunications division of the Ministry Rs. 10,772 crore (US $2.34 billion), when the expected amount for this licensing was Rs. 176,700 crore (US $38.34 billion). The main groups involved included the politicians who authorized the sale of licenses, the bureaucrats who implemented the policies, the corporations who bought the licenses, and a few media persons who mediated between the politicians and the corporations. Within the last group, the most controversial figure was Nira Radia, a former airline entrepreneur turned corporate lobbyist who was accused of influencing the decisions of A. Raja. Her phone conversations with the politicians as well as corporate figures were tapped by the Income Tax Department on orders by the Home Minsitry and the Prime Minister's Office. The leaking of these tapes as well as lawyer and politician Subramaniam Swamy's complaints against A. Raja in the Supreme Court were what finally brought the scam to public notice in late 2010. Two prominent media professionals, Barkha Dutt, an NDTV journalist, and Vir Sanghvi, a Hindustan Times editor, were known to have lobbied for A. Raja's appointment as minister and editor articles to reduce the blame in the Nira Radia tapes, respectively. Also, in early November 2010, Jayalalithaa, head of the opposition party (AIADMK) in the state of Tamil Nadu, accused the current Chief Minister M Karunanidhi of protecting A. Raja from corruption charges. A. Raja was forced to resign by mid-November. In response to the scam, Kapil Sibal, who replaced the A. Raja as the Telecom Minister, stated that the notional losses quoted were a result of erroneous calculations on the part of the CAG, and the actual costs are nil.

Whatever the case, this illustrates not only the corruption, but also the casual approach taken by the Congress administration towards the scam. Several media sources are blaming Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government as the most corrupt in the country since Independence.