Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad

In February this year, Lofven visited India and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of the 'Make in India Week' in Mumbai.

Telecom sector created 2.54 lakh jobs in last 3 years: Prasad

Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, in a written reply to the Lok Sabha, said a total of 89,634 jobs were created in 2013-14, 61,573 in 2014-15, 94,294 in 2015-16 and 8,682 in 2016-17 (till April 30, 2016).

Post offices to remain open till 10 PM today: Prasad

Post offices across the country will remain open till 10 pm today keeping in view a heavy rush of depositors with March 31 being the last day of the fiscal 2015-16.

MTNL gets Rs 429 cr for surrender of 800 MHz spectrum

Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had earlier said that MTNL, currently running into losses, is likely to turn profitable in the next fiscal.

Centre gives 6% DA hike to over 1 cr employees & pensioners

The combined impact on the exchequer on account of both DA and Dearness Relief would be of Rs 6,796.50 crore per annum and Rs 7,929.24 crore respectively, in 2016-17 (for a period of 14 months from January, 2016 to February, 2017), he said.

Sold handsets to Ringing Bells for Rs 3,600 a unit: Adcom

Adcom also warned of legal action against Noida-based Ringing Bells in case the latter's activities adversely impact its brand name or cause any other kind of losses.

Cyber security is a big challenge: Telecom Minister

The minister said there is a need for better coordination, greater sharing of threat perception, greater sharing of challenges and greater sharing of opportunities among countries to collectively meet this menace.

BSNL, MTNL revenue growth lesser than private telcos: Govt

BSNL revenue increased by 2.32 percent in 2014-15 to Rs 28,645 crore whereas MTNL witnessed an increase of 0.90 percent to Rs 3,821 crore for the same period.

Govt imposes Rs 323 cr fine on telcos for violating CAF norms

"Total financial penalty imposed on different telecom service providers (TSPs) for violation of customer acquisition form (CAF) verification norms during current financial year 2015-16 (from April 1, 2015 till December 31, 2015) is Rs 323.56 crore," Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in a written reply to Lok Sabha today.

Mobile phone production rises to 11 cr in 2015-16: Telecom Min

"In 2014-15, the mobile units manufactured in the country was 5.4 crore, which has more than doubled to 11 crore in 2015-16. After the duty rationalisation in the last budget, 16 new mobile manufacturing units have been set up in this financial year," Prasad said here during an media interaction.

Trai will enforce the call drop regulation: Telecom Minister

Asked how compensation will be provided for the months of January and February, Prasad said, " The judgement has come, let the entire architecture be worked out." The Minister further said call quality has been improving but operators need to further enhance the service quality.

Mobile phone cos likely to invest Rs 650 cr by March: Prasad

"The total investment made by companies during the past 7-8 months are estimated to be in the range of Rs 250-300 crore which is likely to increase to Rs 600-650 crore by the end of 2015-16," Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in a written reply in Lok Sabha.

Opposition targets govt in Lok Sabha on 'call drops'

Responding to a volley of questions in the Lok Sabha, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad nearly 65,000 BTS (Base Transceiver Stations) have been set up across country, including Delhi, in four months time.

Rs 5,000 cr project to computerise 1.55 lakh post offices

Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the project involves providing a central server-enabled integrated, modular and scalable solution for all operations of the Department of Posts.

MTNL revival tough but not impossible: Ravi Shankar Prasad

"Revival of MTNL is tough but not impossible. Government will provide all possible support for its revival," Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said at a convention organised by MTNL Mazdoor Sangh on the revival of the public-sector firm.

Govt to soon issue a tender for rural BPO scheme: Prasad

Ravi Shankar Prasad said as many as 78 companies have shown interest to set up BPO operations at 190 locations across the country for about 1,25,000 seats.

Rs 251 phone: Ringing Bells merely rebranded rival's device?

Analysts allege that the design of Ringing Bells' Freedom 251 handset resembles that of Adcom's Ikon 4, which is already available in the Indian market at Rs 3,999.

ICA raises concerns over launch of Ringing Bells Freedom mobile

The Indian Cellular Association (ICA) also said that it is not appropriate for the senior political and government leadership to be present at the launch till the air around this is cleared and it is not shrouded under controversies.

Differential data pricing plainly not acceptable: Telecom Min

The minister said the Trai's order on differential pricing for data services has enhanced India's image in the Net community world over and established its maturity.

Govt aims 50% digital literacy in 3 years

Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said 100 percent digital literacy is required to make the country a truly digitalised society and the government aims to take digital literacy to 50 percent in three years from the current 15 percent.

Plan to install 2,500 wi-fi hotspots by next fiscal: Telecom Min

Noting that wi-fi services are crucial to connect India, Prasad said that state-owned telecom firm BSNL plans to install 2,500 wi-fi hotspots at 256 places by the next fiscal.

Govt extends control order to regulate pulses trade

Government today extended by one year the control order under the Essential Commodities Act to allow the states to take steps to curb unscrupulous trading and hoarding of pulses, edible oils and oilseeds.

Govt working on new structure to deal with call drops

Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had asked the telecom operators to walk the extra mile to ensure that quality service is delivered to people and that consumers do not face issues like call drops.

'Industry pledges $75 bn on Digital India launch'

The ministry on July 1 is estimated to have received an investment commitment of about Rs 4.7 lakh crore from leading Indian conglomerates and global companies including Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, Aditya Birla group and Vedanta.

Govt gets Rs 32,300 cr upfront payment from spectrum sale

Telecom major Bharti Airtel has paid the entire sum for Rajasthan and North East circles. The Department of Telecom (DoT) has received Rs 32,377.85 crore, nearly Rs 3,500 crore above the minimum due, sources told PTI.