‘We have consistently believed that the laws of India should be enforced by every company operating in the country’
‘We have consistently believed that the laws of India should be enforced by every company operating in the country’
In an interview with The Hindu, Ashwini Vaishnav, Union Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology talks about the policy road map digital economyfocus on making India ‘self-reliant’ in telecom technology and recently alleged that Indian government forced Twitter to appoint its agent, He also talks about the government’s plans to improve facilities for railway customers, bring in new engines and upgrade trains, as well as efforts to increase revenue from freight services.
Which policy road map have you envisaged for the telecom and IT sectors?
We are working on a comprehensive legal framework for the digital economy. It has four dimensions. The first is telecom. Telecommunication is the primary means of accessing digital services. Therefore, a new Telecom Bill to replace the laws made in 1885 and 1930 is at an advanced stage of drafting. The stakeholder consultation process is nearing completion. The second would be the Data Protection Bill. Third is a comprehensive Digital India Act which we are preparing to replace the IT Act of 2000 vintage. These are the three bills. Now beyond that, there are some policy frameworks, for example the national data framework that we have uploaded for consultation, then the cyber security framework…
There will be no separate law for cyber security?
Cyber security It is a continuously developing area. Globally, it has been dealt with in a techno-legal framework where technology plays a big role and there is policy to support the technology. I don’t think the threat will be averted by making laws for cyber security. It should be a techno-legal solution. For that we have to continuously invest in infrastructure, new processes, training people and making common citizens aware. However, we always have to be on the alert to counter new threats.
Twitter’s former security chief Peter Zatko has alleged that the company lacks the ability to protect its users and their data. Comment
This is a very serious concern. If they have any lapses in data security, they will be held accountable. We expect every social media platform to use the best available technologies. They should definitely do everything that is necessary to protect users’ data. And it is mandated by their own policies… that’s a very reasonable expectation. If they do not do this, they will certainly be held accountable.
Mr Jatco also alleged that the Indian government forced the microblogging platform to hire a government agent on its payroll and provide access to sensitive user data?
I read in the news that Twitter has categorically denied this before the Parliamentary Committee.
From a policy standpoint, how is the government looking to balance privacy with the use of data to offer better services?
The principles of data protection and privacy are now well established all over the world. It is important that an easily implementable, highly accessible implementation structure is created so that citizens living in remote areas have the same level of grievance redressal mechanism as citizens living in cities. This is what we really need to work on – an accessible, inclusive and equitable structure. When a citizen gives data to the government based on a consent framework, and the government uses data analysis to provide better service… as long as it is part of that consent, it fits all principles.
Our focus is now on ensuring that the implementation of these principles and the data protection framework should be in line with modern times, should be accessible to all, should be very easy to implement and should be digital. It shouldn’t be that we are trying to build a paper system for a digital world. The new draft should be out soon, and we will bring it to Parliament in the budget session.
Will the country’s law enforcement – not companies – have the final authority to remove content from social media platforms?
Yes. This framework exists all over the world. If you look at the per capita number of requests made to remove content that does not conform to the laws of the country, India has the lowest. The laws of our country should be followed by any person working in India. It cannot happen that they (social media companies) say ‘what the constitution should be, this is my view’. We have consistently believed that the laws of India should be enforced by every company operating in the country.
Will the equipment needed for the 5G roll-out come largely from US and European firms?
It won’t just be American and European. We are also building a strong ecosystem in India. In fact, by next year we will be exporting telecommunication technology to the world. The entire technology stack for telecommunications services consists of four distinct parts: the core network, the radio network, the telecommunications equipment, and the mobile handset. C-DOT (The Center for Development of Telematics) and a consortium of educational institutions have developed and tested a very strong core for 4G. On 4G core now they have made 5G coreWhich is almost ready. Reliance Jio has also developed its core.
Then, we have the radio network, which communicates between the consumer and the tower. Our PLI scheme and start-up ecosystem have brought together at least six radio designers and manufacturers today. We are integrating all these radios in C-DOT core. So, building that ecosystem means we can now take our solutions to the world. Similarly, in telecom equipment manufacturing, with the PLI scheme, 30 telecom equipment manufacturers have invested and started production.
The fourth part is the mobile handset. Today, about 25% of all mobile handsets manufactured in India are 5G-enabled. Manufacturers are set to increase the production of 5G equipment by 70-80%. The entry-level 5G handset costs around ₹15,000 today and is likely to drop to ₹10,000-12,000 soon. There are about six or seven developed countries whose telecom service providers have sent serious definitive inquiries to Indian system integrators as to when the C-DOT technology stack will be fully ready. It is ready and tested and will soon be rolled out across 1 lakh sites across the country. The technology is considered proven once it is installed at 15,000-20,000 sites. So, we will have those credentials and by next year we will be ready to export telecom technology to the world. So this is one area where Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Atmanirbhar Bharat vision is being realized very well.
What about manufacturing semiconductors?
We are making excellent progress. Typically, these decisions take 14-18 months. This year January 1 is when we uploaded the policy. Hopefully, we will complete this entire process within this year itself and the first fab may start this year. It could actually be many fab with a very good design ecosystem. The world is looking for a reliable and trustworthy partner like India.
The cabinet has recently approved a relief package of Rs 1.64 lakh crore for the government BSNL. This follows a similar package of Rs 70,000 crore announced in 2019. What do you believe of the turnaround this time?
The 2019 package has made BSNL a stable entity. It earned operating profit (at EBITA level) in the last financial year. Now from this stage, we have to make it a growing company in terms of number of customers, revenue and profitability. The first step we are taking for this is to give BSNL a very strong 4G network. The technology developed by C-DOT under PM’s Atmanirbhar Bharat program has been rigorously tested. We will be rolling out the 4G network in the coming months and will very rapidly upgrade it to 5G. Hence, by the end of 2023, BSNL will have started offering 5G services which will increase the revenue potential and subscriber base. The other big thing in BSNL is the huge increase in the number of broadband subscribers. Today BSNL is adding about 1 lakh new fiber connections every month. These two elements are revenue items. Third, our laser focus is on reducing costs and increasing revenue. Hence it gives a clear direction to the journey of BSNL and we are confident that BSNL will become a good market stabilization force in the coming years.
BSNL is also playing a very important role in reaching out to unconnected locations and bridging the digital divide. Most of the work for MTNL has already been transferred to BSNL. MTNL’s balance sheet is very complex, it has huge debt, so we are working on it.
For Railways, is the current increase in freight services enough to compensate for the loss from passenger services?
The Prime Minister has given us a very clear mandate that the entire passenger experience has to be completely transformed. The first thing in this is the railway station. Hence today around 50 railway stations are being completely redeveloped as per world class standards. Second new generation trains are being received. The new Vande Bharat train is being tested at a speed of 180 kmph and the results are excellent. Also, we are working on all new types of engines with 9,000 HP engine. Traditionally, we’ve been doing 4,000 hp and 6,000 hp. The new engines are the latest in engine technology and will be designed and manufactured in India. Then for shorter point-to-point distances, for example, 30-40 km from a major city, an entirely new generation of metro trains running on Indian Railways tracks are being built. These will replace MEMU and DEMU trains. So we are upgrading the entire spectrum of trains. And in the next two years, you will see all these things coming back on track. Third is the safety of passengers. We are increasing the installation of Kavach (Indigenously Developed Train Protection System) to 3,000 kms this year against the budget target of 2,000 kms. On the cargo side, last year we added an additional 185 million tonnes (MT). This is unprecedented as 20-30 MT was added in the previous railways. This year, we are on track to add almost the same amount of new cargo. In the last 70 years railways has been losing its market share to roads and last year we started the journey of gaining market share. This journey will continue this year also. This will have a major impact on India’s logistics cost. The only way to reduce this is to have more and more rail shares. Our passenger subsidy is now Rs 62,000 crore… Around 55% subsidy is given to all. So how do we fill that gap? This difference has to come from having more and more cargo. So all these initiatives will transform the experience of passengers in Indian Railways.
With the improvement of facilities, is there a case for increasing the fare?
We are not looking to increase passenger fares. In the last eight years, Railways has continuously moved towards improving passenger amenities, improving passenger experience – from cleanliness to timely running of trains to station convenience… Simultaneously we are focusing on holding more cargo. are. The results of eight years are now visible.
Will we be able to achieve 96 per cent operating ratio this year?
With a huge passenger subsidy of ₹62,000 crore and pension expenditure of ₹55,000 crore and salary and salary bills of ₹1 lakh crore, the social responsibility of the Railways is more important. Profit is not the motive. We are doing everything possible to balance revenue and expenditure amidst all these socio-political and economic constraints.
There have been several extensions in the timeline of the major Dedicated Freight Corridor project. What is the current status of the project?
The project started in 2007. As of 2014, the number of tracks commissioned was zero km. Since 2014, we have started 1,350 km and that is a huge number. It has started operating and operating around 180 trains a day. We have started getting the benefit of two freight corridors.