The fact is telecom is notified as an essential service under the Essential Services Maintenance Act, 1968, but this has not translated into any financial help for the sector. The change to the GST regime was a great opportunity for the government, given the importance of the sector and its impact across economic, social and cultural progress of the country, to help, at a time it was most needed.
The Goods and Service Tax (GST) reform is expected to be the biggest change in taxation policy in the country since the 1990s liberalisation, but the changeover has many industry experts apprehensive of its short and long-term impact.
The Indian government expects to implement GST from July 2017. The last meeting, held in Srinagar on May 18-19, 2017, finalized the rules and tax rates for the different categories, making it the most crucial meet for most of the sectors. The meeting was especially important for the telecom sector as it was a golden opportunity for the government to reduce the taxes and levies applicable to the telecom sector and give it a much needed financial breather, at a time it was needed the most.The telecom sector pays around 30% of its earnings in taxes and levies, including spectrum usage charge (SUC) and licence fees. Due to number of reasons, including hyper-competitiveness, the sector has come to a point that can be seen as just short of needing a bailout. Total debt for the sector is at around ₹4.5 lakh crore, while annual revenues are around than half of this. Despite this, tariffs have been going in the opposite direction of inflation. And India has some of the lowest telecom tariffs in the world.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June 2017 من Voice and Data.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة June 2017 من Voice and Data.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Can US AI copyright law impact Indian policymaking?
The proposed Act suggests compensating original creators for content that is used to train Gen Al. This can be a good middle ground for many in tech to follow
Rise of the connected cars
Advanced features like 5G, IoT, and AI are reshaping the automotive industry in India, promising enhanced mobility and safety for drivers
Navigating chaos: Securing trust in digital communication
Amid rising fraud risks, CPaaS tools offer a lifeline. SMS, though vulnerable, remains pivotal for real-time alerts in a chaotic digital landscape
The silent communication warhorse
While 5G grabs the headlines, 4G LTE quietly fuels global mobile networks, enabling high-speed Internet and IoT growth with wide adoption and growth potential
HPE Launches Wi-Fi 7 APs for enhanced connectivity and security
Hewlett Packard Enterprise launched Wi-Fi 7 access points (APs), boasting up to 30% more wireless traffic capacity than competitors.
Getting ready for the great Indian switch
India's mobile landscape is undergoing a shift: from feature phones to feature-rich, affordable smartphones, driven by consumers' desire for a better user experience
Net neutrality takes a right turn again
Led by Biden's commitment to protecting the Open Internet, the recent FCC decision has brought the Net Neutrality debate back to the front
It is time to ghost the AI dating bots
As mobile apps and AI dating bots surge in popularity, addressing pressing concerns about privacy, data manipulation, and transparency is paramount
Will voice interfaces ever take off?
Voice as a primary user interface has shown flickers of promise but has never taken off. Today, with AI at hand, it is still failing to go mainstream
Mega deals paper some cracks for in-turmoil IT firms
Amid the tricky financial year 2023-24, IT firms saw losses in Pack revenue from their telecommunications clients-suggesting that a rejig could be in order