Telecom bill may not make it to monsoon session as talks continue

The government is unlikely to table the new telecom bill in the monsoon session, said two people familiar with the development, as it is yet to get Cabinet approval.

- Gulveen Aulakh

"Internal discussions are going on, stakeholders from all sides have already given their views. But we don't want to rush it. There are multiple elements here that have to be stitched together," said one of the people in the government, who did not want to be named.

Another official said that while the bill was at an advanced stage it was still some time away from being taken to Parliament. "We shouldn't put a target of monsoon session," he said, asking not to be named.

The government had earlier set a target for the July-August monsoon session to table the bill. The session is scheduled to run from 20 July to 11 August. The department of telecom did not respond to queries sent by Mint.