Telecommunications - To Unshackle the Mind

In the background of economic thought that prevailed for the better part of 50 years following Independence, those running the reins of Government got accustomed to taking a very narrow, often timid, and self-serving view of the way Government should function.

Independence seemed to have paradoxically brought in a mentality of Control rather than Freedom.

The making of 21^st Century India requires making a clean break from such myopic ideas and the ability to think out of the box on the part of those who run the Government.

Telecom is one sector where, a paradigm shift took place in the last 5 years from the time of the previous Government and it has brought spectacular changes in this area, which could hardly be visualized in the earlier years.

The present Minister for Communications and IT has just moved a step further in breaking one more barrier of the mind. He has made everyone realize, what should have been apparent all along, that as far as Telecommunications are concerned, DISTANCES DO NOT MATTER. So basic a fact and yet, the mindset of not only the Government but also the people all along accepted that telephone charges ought to be levied on the basis of distance. The Minister highlighted the fact by likening Telecom with the Post. As the postal charges are no different through the length and breadth of the country, why should Telecom charges be?

To take a charitable view of our narrow vision in the past, would be to say that the distance-based charges were established for reasons of revenue. The more plausible explanation, however, is simply that no one thought about it before in the context of telecom tariffs and the Minister deserves all credit for bringing to light what was not realized before.

Mr. Maran deserves these compliments, not just for this new and practical approach in his own sphere, but also for showing others how vital it is to ‘free the mind’ to move forward.