Ex-telecom minister Sukh Ram speaks to Pramod Kumar in an interview

Arindam Chaudhuri bags Delhi team of i1 Super Series

The money recovered was not mine

It's generally held that politicians cling on to politics till their last breath. Ghani Khan Choudhury is an apt example. But you seemed to have called it a day long ago...
I have had an active career as a politician for 45 years and wanted to continue. But I was fed up with the accusations. If I had not been maligned, I could have worked as a communication minister for a few more years and would have taken telecommunications in this country to newer heights.

The accusations such as giving undue benefits to Himachal Futuristic Communications Limited as well as favouritism in allocating circles are still going on...
I was let down by petty politics. There were people inside the party who ambushed me. The Parliament was standstill for 13 days. However, after intervention of the Supreme Court, I got reprieve. I am positive that the Supreme Court will surely deliver justice to me. It is long deserved.

But CBI did recover 'unaccounted for' money from your houses in Delhi and Mandi...
The money CBI recovered was not mine. Since the matter is subjudice, I can not make further comments. The party had asked me to rent out a few rooms at my houses in Delhi and Mandi for their use. I was going to UK for my wife's treatment. I gave them permission to use the rooms. I had no idea what those rooms were used for. I am paying the price for that for the last 14 years.

People find similarities between you and Raja vis-a-vis 2G spectrum issue...
This is not done. This is uncalled for. I brought the information revolution to this country. I brought Internet and cellular services. I made the first mobile call to Jyoti Basu and today the common man is reaping the benefit. I introduced a few policy changes. I started the process of awarding the bid to the lowest bidder. Prior to that, contracts used to be split between all the bidders. Because of the change in policy, I managed to fill the coffer of this country with Rs 2200 crore in one year. Raja, on the other hand, has siphoned off money.

How do you feel when you see the party you belonged to reeling under the accusation of corruption. Even the PMO has come into the line of fire...
When I was the minister of state for planning and implementation, Manmohan Singh was deputy chairman of the Planning Commission. We have worked very closely for a couple of years. I am of the opinion that he is an honest man with a progressive vision. It is expected that the Opposition will level charges. He has been a successful Prime Minister. The accusations about him are baseless. If a particular minister is corrupt, the onus lies on that minister.

You are praising Manmohan Singh while his government has been unable to contain rising prices...
In the recently held AICC meeting, the core issue was corruption. I was a bit bewildered. I would have expected price rise to be the core issue. I get surprised and pained in equal measures when I hear ministers saying that they don't have the magic wand to contain the prices. How can somebody give such a reckless and irresponsible statement? When I was in charge of the ministry of agriculture and public distribution, I successfully managed to distribute grains to all the states even though the country was reeling under drought. I was praised for this at an international conference too. But I don't see ministers concerned doing so today. That is why the Prime Minister had to intervene.

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Sukh ram, pramod mahajan, arun shourie, dayanidhi maran, a. Raja...

growth of corruption in the telecom sector has certainly kept pace with the fast growing subscriber base, feels Sutanu Guru. none of the corporate entities nor a single minister has been made to pay till now, he further points out

The more things change, the more they remain the same. I still remember the spring of 1996 when the name Raja had more traditional connotations. The cricket World Cup was on in the Indian sub-continent and fans were praying for Sachin Tendulkar to work his magic so that India could lift the Cup. The Central government - riddled, assaulted and besieged by scams and scandals - was paralysed and as lame duck as a duck can be lame. And of course, even as cricket fever was hotting up, Indian citizens were both horrified and titillated by a strange piece of news. Sukh Ram, who had presided over the first auction of mobile telephony services in India in 1995 as Union telecom minister till he was "reshuffled", was arrested for a 'telecom' scam. Forget the names of the other players involved; they really don't matter anymore. But guess what, the estimated loss to the exchequer was about Rs 1.7 crore. Yes, the money lost by the government was a paltry Rs 1.7 crore!

But you must remember, Sachin Tendulkar was then earning a pittance for endorsements compared to the upwards of Rs 100 crore he makes nowadays. And of course, like in 1996, India still adores its favourite cricketer as the nation hopes he will win the Cup for India. And yes, the cricket World Cup is back in the sub-continent. It is also spring and the season for the flowers to bloom. Of course, like 15 years back in 1996, it is also the season for scams and scandals to bloom in such a manner that the Central government appears more paralysed than a lame duck. The more things change, the more they remain the same. The only difference is what you and I can call the impact of 'inflation' while measuring the magnitude of the scams. In 1996, it was alleged that Sukh Ram was responsible for the State losing Rs 1.7 crore in revenue. In 2011, the CAG estimates that another former telecom minister A. Raja is probably responsible for the State to lose Rs 1.7 lakh crore — ten thousand times more than the loss in 1996. In a perverse way, you could use that to applaud the manner in which the Indian economy has grown in this era of crony capitalism masqeurading as liberal economic policies with a special emphasis on the aam aadmi.

In 1996, Sukh Ram was accused of changing rules and goalposts to favour companies close to him. In the 1995 auction of mobile phone services, a then unknown entity called Himachal Futuristic Communications Ltd (Sukh Ram belongs to Himachal Pradesh) had shocked India Inc. by bidding huge amounts for telecom circles. When it became clear that the company could not pay the license fee and stood to forfeit its bank guarantee, Sukh Ram allegedly changed policy in a way that a company could get only three circles. Himachal Futuristic is still a player in the business. It shot back into limelight last year when a group company Infotel successfully bid for 22 circles for Broadband Wireless Access (BWA). Intriguingly, Infotel sold its majority stake soon after to a company controlled by Mukesh Ambani. Of course, you are quite familiar with how Raja bent, broke and changed rules to suit the interests of corporate houses he favoured. But did you happen to know that his predecessor and another DMK leader Dayanidhi Maran (whose brother controls the Sun Network) handed out 27 licences during his tenure and that 14 of them went to Aircel? Didn't I say that the more things change, the more they remain the same?

Let us take the Sukh Ram - A.Raja comparison a bit further. Sukh Ram was arrested in February, 1996, and eventually convicted in 2009. He is out on bail as his appeal is pending in the Delhi High Court. He still vociferously defends his controversial track record (See Exclusive Interview). A. Raja too has been arrested recently. The question is that will another journalist interview Raja 15 years hence in 2026 while he enjoys bail and vociferously defends his controversial track record? The way our Indian 'demonocracy' (an apt term coined by my editor-in-chief) is, don't be surprised if that scenario actually turns out to be true.

I won't bore you with the gory details of the 2G scam and the unending brouhaha that goes on around it. It is enough to realise that Indian democracy is in urgent and dire need of serious efforts and reform. My colleague interviewed N. Vittal - who was telecom secretary when Sukh Ram was telecom minister - in his modest apartment in Chennai (See Exclusive Interview). The 73-year-old Vittal, who created history as the Chief Vigilance Commissioner by posting the names of bureaucrats accused of corruption on the official CVC Website, is clinical as usual when he assesses the state of the State: "I had multiple problems in my body a few years back. Many experts coordinated their diagnosis and treatments for my recovery. India as a body politic now suffers a multiple organ failure of governance. 2G represents this."

There are a few things about the telecom scam you should know which have been sidelined in the run-up to the arrest of A. Raja, the voyeuristic tattles resonating in the media thanks to the leak of the Radia tapes and the persistent threats of Opposition parties to paralyse working of Parliament if their demand for a JPC is not met. Most interesting is the manner in which the BJP is acting holier than thou. Since public memory is short, let me remind you of a few interesting things that happened to the telecom sector when the BJP-led NDA alliance was in power at the Centre. Jagmohan was the telecom minister and even as he was being eased out from the ministry, the government changed the licence fee regime to a new revenue sharing regime in 1999. This was a highly controversial move then though there are many who still agree that freeing the mobile operators from the burden of paying huge licence fees every year to the government enabled them to lower tarriffs and trigger the real telecom revolution. That may be so. But when the late Pramod Mahajan was the telecom minister, Reliance made a blatant back door entry into the telecom sector in a manner everybody acknowledges was unethical and almost certainly illegal. Essentially, Reliance launched de facto mobile phone services across India without paying a single Paisa as licence fee even as other operators like Bharti, Hutch, BPL and others had paid thousands of crores as licence fees. This 'free' backdoor entry enabled Reliance to launch that famous campaign that promised a mobile call at 40 Paisa per minute. Pramod Mahajan was replaced by the so-called incorruptible Arun Shourie as telecom minister. In his tenure, Reliance was not penalised for its sins. It was just asked to pay a licence fee and continue operating as if nothing had happened. Basically, whether it is the Congress or the BJP, you could say that each had its own set of favourites and each bent and broke rules whenever convenient.

Another interesting thing about the fascinating telecom sector is the manner in which established business houses have clawed back into the game after losing out completely in the early years of mobile telephony in India. For a few years after mobile services were launched in India, the big players were BPL, Bharti, Max, Usha and a few others. The Tatas, Birlas and Ambanis were not considered serious players. But look at the secenario now. Barring Vodafone (which is a multinational and which has allegedly defrauded the Indian exchequer to the tune of $2 billion in unpaid taxes) and Sunil Mittal of Bharti, the big boys of Indian telecom are Ratan Tata, Kumarmangalam Birla and Anil Ambani (with Mukesh Ambani expected to join that big league soon with a broadband wireless access network). So, in a way, the Empire of India Inc. is striking back as seen in the case of the telecom sector. Analysts used to say that liberal economic policies led to a blossoming of entrepreneurs who had no chance in the earler era of licence permit raj. Sadly, discretionary and arbitrary decisions by minister after minister holding portfolio after portfolio seem to be getting worse forms of the license permit raj back into the picture.

The last thing I would like to highlight in this sleazy saga is a lament that will soon be forgotten. There is little doubt that Indian telecom has been a success story. From zero in 1995 to 700 million subscribers in 2011 is no mean achievement. But even as this sector blossomed, the two state-owned entities of MTNL and BSNL seem to be in terminal decline. They are taking suicidal decisions that are inexplicable and meant only to benefit private sector players.

And of course, as mentioned earlier, the telecom sector and the 2G scam is just an example and a manifestation. Similar examples abound in virtually every sector in India. In the coming weeks, watch out for a TSI story on how crony capitalism ensured that private airlines benefitted immensely even as the state-owned Air India - like BSNL and MTNL - followed a suicidal path towards destruction and bankruptcy. And do remember that like telecom, aviation is also considered a success story in India!

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New directors with new touch capture the scene

Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri Dean Business School IIPM

Kerala films: New Directions
Amid many crises in the Malayalam film industry, there are silver clouds on the “silver” screen. An energetic batch of new generation directors is busy giving Malayalam cinema a new direction. In 2010, more than 40 per cent of the films (37 out of 89) were directed by fresh, young directors, and the trend continues in 2011 also.

Vysakh, Thomson, Mamas, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Martin Prakkatt and Mohan Raghavan are some of the names to reckon with. “They try to break the ‘over-used’ pattern of the Malayalam films. They are tech savvy, have a grasp over world cinema and their approach is modern. This reflects in the content of their films,” says Rafeeq Ahamed, state award winner film lyricist and poet.

In both the commercial and the parallel cinema realms, the new entrants have embossed their mark. Mega stars like Mammootty, Mohanlal and super star Dileep are willing to work with them. The Mammotty starrer Pokkiriraja, directed by Vysakh, became a super hit in 2010. The blockbusters such as Karyasthan, Malarvadi Arts Club, Pappy Appachaa, and Best Actor were also the ventures of the new entrants. It will not be wrong to say that Dileep, after a series of flops, succeeded in re-capturing his status and market value through the films of new directors Thomson (Karyasthan) and Mamas (Pappy Appachaa).

The new directors made a drastic change in theme and the structure of the films. The old concepts of family stories gave way to new generation relationships and alienation of the city life. Chithrasoothram, the experimental film that was invited to many international film festivals, was directed by Vipin Vijay, a new face in the industry.

But the new entrants face some challenges also. It’s not easy for them to get screens since the cinema hall owners want to play safe most of the times and would go for only the so-called ‘hit makers’. “Most of the newcomers find it difficult to survive. Some commercially successful thrillers which are praised for novelty are just weak imitations of some well-known foreign movies,” says young director Varghese Antony.

Nevertheless, the commercial success of their films has convinced the theatre owners and they are now ready to accommodate their films too. The advent of multiplexes has also helped.

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Spriha Srivastava shares insights from the Delhi Race Course…

Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri Dean Business School IIPM

Placed to win? Don't bet on it!
Thinking about The North Indian Derby (pronounced Dar-bee) horse racing in Delhi brought flashes from the scenes at the Polo Grounds I’d noticed in the newspapers – of the social elites decked in their designer best, brandishing their glamorous accessories; some hobnobbing with celebrities while others puffing away at cigars. Driven by the enthusiasm of actually experiencing one such mise en scène myself, I was at the Delhi Race Course for the so-called ‘World Cup’ of horse racing. Of course, the atmosphere at the race course was quite different from that at the polo matches.

In the narrow lane that leads to the gates of the racing ground, one is greeted by little children who enthusiastically sell pocket-sized booklets containing pertinent information and details about horses, that could serve as a prospective gambler’s guide. “I can tell you which horse will win today. Bet on dad’s horse,” said one of the kids while a buyer fished out some money from his wallet. These kids, bathed in dust and grease, are children of horse trainers, jockeys and stable caretakers who spend the entire day outside the gates of the race course. “I hear and learn about horse betting. I will grow up to become rich of betting,” muttered one of them and ran away to catch attention of another interested buyer.

On the other side of the gate , there was a small section with a circular track where horses were exhibited before the race. In the huge crowd gawking at the horses, turning pages of the booklet and making quick notes before placing the bet, were mostly youngsters and especially those who appeared to belong to the lower middle-class. I walked up to a man (somewhere in his mid- thirties) called Ved Prakash and tried asking about the race, and the brief conversation probed quite insightful. “Madam, winning bets is not a day’s job. It requires regular visits to understand the dynamics of betting. And this is a Derby race…very important race, madam. In this, stakes are high and people bet huge amounts,” he explained. On casually enquiring about his gains for the day, Ved Prakash smiled and said, “Arre madam, I bet safe amounts. I just placed Rs 500 today and won Rs 3,500. Today’s wage is taken care of!” Ved Praksh appeared to be one of those calculated risk-takers, but he and some others who I spoke to had numerous stories to share about people who’d lost jewellery, property etc and still borrowed money from people they knew at the race course, in the hope to win back all that they once owned.

At the stands lining the racing track is a clear demarcation of class. While the lower stands had people for whom the spoils would perhaps allow them to indulge in healthy meals for a few days, the upper stands had ones who looked like they may well be splurging on a whim. I met Daksh Oberoi, a suave young man, just short of 30, who owned horses and was probably the most recognised figure at the race course. His stable, located behind the race course, houses 43 horses. “Apart from Delhi, I own horses in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Mysore as well and I work in partnership with my friend, Sunil Kumar Verma” said Daksh whose passion for horses was a hand-me-down from his father.

In the olden times, horses were used by kings not only as a means to commute, but were passionately groomed and trained for warfare. This passion was given a purpose by the British who introduced horse racing such that it became a forum for princes and aristocrats to socialise. The likes of Daksh who invest their passion in horses is, unfortunately, a disappearing breed. “I started learning the business of horse racing from a very young age. I’d visit the race course with my father, go through the booklets where the entire history of the participating horses is listed, talk to people and get involved,” he reminisced. Daksh has yet not stepped into the league of breeders like the Poonawallas, Ramaswamy’s (Chettinad Stud Farms) or the Usha Stud Farms, since it requires behemoth amount of investment. Content with purchasing and owning horses, he fondly refers to them as ‘my kids’ and was honest enough to reveal that his ‘kids’ haven’t won him great fortunes yet, but they hadn’t left him out of business either. As he walked me towards the section which was abuzz with people discussing bets and where bookies were on their job, he suddenly stopped and pointed towards the roof. “Don’t these tin awnings upheld with those old rods remind you of a cremation ground?” And he laughed before adding, “It’s funny because this place is one!” He explained that there are some here who’re probably betting their last penny and there are others who’re rejoicing today, but will go back with empty pockets tomorrow. “There are countless number of those who’ve come down from riches to rags… Don’t bet if you don’t understand the game. It simply hurts to see that the thrill to watch your horse race and win has died down and instead, there are these people who’re here to enrich their future off an animal that means nothing to them,” he said. Daksh stated that the Derby race in Delhi scored way below the one at the Mahalaxmi Race Course in Mumbai, where the stakes go up to Rs 2.5 crore as against Rs 10 lakh in the capital city. One of his plans is to steadily raise the standard of the Delhi Race Course and promote
the passion for horses, and not the mere addiction of gambling on them.

Horse gambling, though legal, wouldn’t be called a fair game. If owners buy horses worth up to crores and then also spend money on feeding and training, there has to be a way to earn that back. And one can certainly not rely on something as uncertain as a win in a race. Heavy ‘negative gambling’ happens here where the owners, bookies as well as jockeys drain away a huge share. “Everyone knows it’s all fixed. Sab setting hai madam,” is what Ved Prakash revealed, with few others, including the guard, though it didn’t seem to dissuade them from coming here very frequently.

More than the prospect of depleting moolah, my concern went out to those severely addicted, most of them youngsters. 24-year-old Abhay Thakral shared that he’s a part of his father’s property business, and horse gambling is just a way to pass his time. “I come here every Tuesday. Today I won Rs 5000 and last week I won Rs 16,000. This gambling becomes so addictive that once they start understanding how to go about it, people only bet in lakhs. I’ve gone through huge losses as well, but if I lose, I want to win it back… and I do. It’s just my way to pass my time and earn that extra money!” As I took his leave, he enquired if I’d want to give it a shot. “I’ll tell you which horse to bet on in the next race. You’ll win. 100 per cent.” Tempted by his offer, I did place a very small amount at stake, and well, I lost. I shrugged it off, but couldn’t help wondering about situations where such losses equaled loss of day’s square meal. Then again, if I had won, I would’ve found myself in the range of yet another worthless addiction!

Horse d'oeuvres

Horse racing, also known as ‘The Sport of Kings’, dates back to about 4500 BC; the nomadic tribesmen of Central Asia were the first to start the practice of domesticating horses. Spreading across Central Asia and the Mediterranean, by 638 BC, horse racing became the most popular event in the ancient Greek Olympics. Back then, it was in the form of chariot and mounted horse racing. The modern form of horse racing, which exists today, was an initiative of the English knights who brought in Arab horses in the 12th century and then started the breeding and training of horses for speed and endurance. Currently, apart from India – where horse gambling is the only legal form of gambling – Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and South America are some states where the sport of horse racing is passionately and professionally pursued.

On your marks, get set, listen up!

1. You would bump into a lot of people who’d happily give advice on which horse to lay stakes on. Do not listen to them. You might end up burning a hole in your pocket.

2. Start by doing a thorough research about the history of a horse’s lineage, the number of races it won etc. All this information is available in booklets distributed at race courses.

3. The best jockey might not definitely win races.

4. Low risk takers, keep distance from the race course!

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Davos summit is of frugal relevance to the common Indians

India WEF summit: Honeymoon

The annual World Economic Forum summit has always been nothing more than honeymoon trips. This year was no exception. Over 400 Indian leaders from business, government, academia and civil society gathered in Davos, Switzerland for the five day summit (26-30 January, 2011) to find solutions to some common problems affecting the world at large. Irrespective, this has little relevance to common Indians and their miseries.

Davos has been a popular platform for business leaders. This year, over 2500 leaders from business, politics and international organisations participated to brainstorm, debate and discuss on the worst global challenges including overcoming recession and rise in inflation in emerging economies, under the theme “shared norms for the new reality.” Initially, the main objective of WEF was to bring European business leaders together. With increasing popularity, objectives broadened and it eventually became a platform for European and American business leaders to interact. As it attracted leaders from politics and academia, the issues covered in WEF expanded from business to economy and other global issues. But all this has never been an effective platform for solving serious problems. Leaders come with various views but hardly agree with each other.

India has attracted enough attention and participation of Indian leaders is ever increasing. India was represented by economic elites like Anand Mahindra and Mukesh Ambani this year. The irony is that while they had gone to share India's way of ‘inclusive growth’ with the global audience, this has actually been a failure domestically. The government has thoroughly failed to meet peoples’ expectation. A 100 million people are yet to be covered under government programmes. The government, whose 'national priority' is 'sustainable development,' has been struggling to curb inflation.

There is a stark disparity in education, particularly for girls. Inequality of income is widening too. Over 80 per cent of the total wealth increase was accumulated by the top 1 per cent rich in the US between 1980-2005. The top 100 wealthiest Indians control 25 per cent of India's GDP. India ranks second in the list of billionaires against trillion dollar economy with 55 billionaires from a $1.1 trillion economy, only after Russia, with 87 billionaires and a $1.3 trillion GDP. Billionaires are certainly not unwelcoming but their wealth creation, mainly from the nation’s land, resources, government contracts and licenses, is diluting the very essence of an egalitarian society.

Phew... Did the WEF summit discuss all this and find out a solution to it all? Rather than launch into a reprisal of our diatribe, we'll simply comment, "Come off it!" WEF was never intended to find real solutions; just real venues.

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