Can India's spectrum auction help cap its budget blowout?
The Indian government鈥檚 wireless spectrum auction this week has been good news for a telecom sector that was until recently shadowed by a corruption scandal 鈥� and a boon for the government鈥檚 bottom line.
The government has already raised about $8 billion in the multiday auction, which started Monday and is still going. The money should help contain the country鈥檚 budget deficit, which is currently around 5 percent of GDP, or roughly $90 billion.聽鈥淚t does help the government 鈥� they are getting a fair bit of cash from this,鈥� notes our correspondent on the ground in Mumbai. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 worth noting is that it鈥檚 pretty competitive.鈥澛營ndeed, the hotly contested auction is a major turnabout from the government鈥檚 last auction, which saw only one company participate. With base prices lower this time around, the auction has drawn big players like聽Reliance Jio, Vodafone, and Bharti Airtel.聽It鈥檚 part of a broader government effort to revive investment in the sector. India鈥檚 telecom market is the second-largest in the world, but ... For the rest of the story, continue reading at our new business publication聽.
