By IANS,
New Delhi : Key ministers including Communications Minister Kapil Sibal and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Friday met to discuss the fallout of the apex court order cancelling 122 2G licences issued in 2008 but the issue remained inconclusive due to the absence of Law Minister Salman Khurshid and Attorney General G.E. Vahanvati.
While Sibal refused to comment after the meeting, Department of Telecom (DoT) secretary R. Chandrashekhar, who was also present, said: “If anything happens, we will let you know.”
The Supreme Court’s decision has seen many ramifications including a few foreign players announcing their plans to exit the India business.
Abu Dhabi-based Etisalat has said it will shut down its services in India in order to protect the interests of all stakeholders and to avoid incurring further costs at this time of rapid change and continued uncertainty in the Indian telecommunications sector.
The issue has also taken diplomatic turns with governments of other countries getting involved to save the investments of their firms.
In order to secure state-owned Telenor’s $3 billion investment in India, a key Norwegian minister met Sibal earlier this month while Russian Communications Minister Igor Shchyogolev is expected to meet Sibal soon.
Russia’s Sistema operates in India under a joint venture with Shyam Group.