BUDGET 2000
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
COMMENTARY
GOVT&ECONOMY
Y2K: BIZ FEATURES
INDIA & THE WTO
CREDIT POLICY
BIZ IN THE USA
CARS & MOBIKES
MANAGEMENT
CASE STUDY
BIZ-QUIZ
USEFUL INFO
ARCHIVES
NEWSLINKS
SEARCH REDIFF

PM approves Paswan's free-phone scheme

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajayee today approved the Department of Telecommunication's decision to provide its employees telephone lines free of charge.

The prime minister gave his approval to the controversial plan, which was earlier opposed by the Ministry of Finance, after a meeting with both the finance minister and his counterpart from the Ministry of Telecommunications.

According to the compromise formula arrived at the meeting, the DoT employees would now pay a one-time installation charge for the free phones and would also agree to a bonus freeze at 70 working days.

The principal secretary to the prime minister, Brajesh Mishra, told reporters that with Vajpayee's approval of the negotiated package, the free-phone crisis had blown over.

According to Mishra, 3.2 lakh DoT employees will avail of the new package, which rules out extra free calls.

While both Communications Minister Ram Vilas Paswan and Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha were present when Mishra briefed reporters, neither of them offered any comment.

The telecom package worked out today came in the wake of a virtual stand-off between Paswan and Sinha, with the former convinced that the government could ill-afford such populist schemes.

He had dashed off an angry note to the prime minister, and followed it up by publicly criticising the minister of telecommunications.

Paswan too had sent a note to the PMO stating his views on the matter. His argument was that the DoT would meet the cost of the scheme through internal accruals.

Business

EARLIER REPORT
PM summons Paswan over free phones plan: AFP