The Union Cabinet will now take the final call on reserve prices for spectrum auctions, as the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is not proposing a reduction in reserve prices.
Thus given the circumstances, Union Cabinet would take a call whether prices should be reduced or not.
According to industry sources, the DoT has prepared a draft cabinet note, outlining the reserve price for auctions including 4G spectrum, as recommended by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
Further, the cabinet may reportedly look at reducing the reserve price for two reasons. The first reason being the exact amount of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues to be paid over the next 10 years is now known. Secondly, following the ban on procurement of equipment from Chinese vendors, their procurement prices may increase by around 15 per cent-20 per cent.
