New Delhi: Time is appropriate to "reactivate" the GoM on spectrum vacation that could free over 122 Mhz of radiowaves as DoT has almost completed alternate communication network for defence forces, Sam Pitroda, Adviser to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, has said.
"With the anticipated completion of the terrestrial network for defence services undertaken by DoT...there are fresh possibilities for vacation of more spectrum by the defence services. In addition, digitisation of Prasar Bharti has the potential of freeing valuable spectrum for telecom services," Pitroda said in a letter.
"Therefore, time is opportune to reactivate the GoM (Group of Ministers) to focus on certain spectrum availability and utilisation issues of considerable relevance to continued growth of telecom and broadcasting sectors," he added.
Pitroda is of the view that 80 megahertz of airwaves frequencies for 4G services can be freed from the spectrum held by Department of Space (DoS). "DoS has earlier released 40 Mhz for mobile services. Out of the balance 150 Mhz, as per radio regulations, DoS has no proposal to utilise 80 Mhz. The frequency has been earmarked internationally for 4G/BWA (Wireless Broadband) services," he said....
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08:55 PM, May 17, 2013
New Delhi: India's Railway Board is vested with the powers to oversee and manage what is ranked among the world's top five railroad networks and one of the largest employers, with an estimated 1.4 million people on its rolls. The board, including its chairman, comprises seven members, each entrusted with a specific area of operation, reporting directly to the Railways minister. The members oversee areas related to mechanical, traffic, engineering,...
05:50 PM, May 04, 2013
New Delhi: Terming the present state of the Indian telecom sector as a transition phase, National Innovation Council Chairman Sam Pitroda on Monday said the next revolution is expected to be much bigger than the earlier one. "We are just going through a transition, everybody goes through a transition, sometimes you fall down, hurt your elbow, but its OK," Pitroda who is also advisor to the Prime Minister on public...
04:10 PM, Apr 08, 2013
Sam Pitroda, adviser to the prime minister on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations, on Tuesday called for "democratisation of information" and "opening up of government data" to the public. ...
02:40 AM, Jan 30, 2013
New Delhi: Sam Pitroda, Adviser to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, will hold the first-ever global press conference on Friday on microblogging site Twitter to discuss global innovation. "Sam Pitroda, Adviser to the Indian Prime Minister on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations and Chairman, National Innovation Council will host the first global press conference on Twitter to discuss 'Global Innovation Roundtable'," an official statement on Thursday said. The Global Twitter Press...
08:52 PM, Nov 01, 2012
New Delhi: The UPA clearly is in a war mode. After a slew of reforms, the government has launched an image revamp exercise. And leading it is the man responsible for India's communications revolution Sam Pitroda who is hoping to do a Narendra Modi for the Congress. Pitroda held a first-of-a-kind Twitter conference, another first for the Congress. Pitroda said, "Through Twitter you reach out to interested people." "The UPA...
08:36 AM, Sep 26, 2012
The government turned to social media on Tuesday as Sam Pitroda fielded questions from journalists on Twitter. ...
11:38 PM, Sep 25, 2012
New Delhi: Following the mouse clicks of tech-savvy Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, the UPA government held its first Twitter conference. Sam Pitroda, the Prime Minister's adviser on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations, answered questions from Twitter users on 'democratisation of information' between 3:30 PM and 4:15 PM on Tuesday. Pitroda answered questions from his @pitrodasam Twitter account for the interactive session. Following is the full transcript of the interactive...
07:12 PM, Sep 25, 2012
New Delhi: After the government faced criticism for so-called censorship of Internet, a key advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Sam Pitroda, on Tuesday took to Twitter to answer queries on how information can be "democratised". "I firmly believe that information is the fourth pillar of democracy along with legislature, executive and judiciary," was Pitroda's opening remark during an online conference. Twitter and other social networks are gaining popularity as...
06:15 PM, Sep 25, 2012
New Delhi: Following in the footsteps of the tech savvy Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, the UPA government held a 'press conference' on Twitter. Sam Pitroda, the PM's adviser on public information, addressed a conference on 'democratisation of information' between 3:30 and 4:15 pm. Pitroda used his Twitter handle @pitrodasam for the interactive session. During the 45-minutes session, Pitroda answered several questions from the Twitter users. Modi had recently interacted...
03:11 PM, Sep 25, 2012
In an interview to IBN18 Editor-in-Chief Rajdeep Sardesai, Sam Pitroda stressed on the need of the modernisation of Indian Railways. ...
11:40 PM, Jul 30, 2012
New Delhi: Delhi will soon be the first city in the country to set up food banks through which excess cooked and uncooked food will be collected from wedding receptions, parties, social functions, hotels and individual donors for distribution among hungry and poor people. The scheme is being modelled on the lines of food banks in Chicago in the US where community groups run them to feed hungry people by...
11:12 AM, Jun 09, 2012
New York: Sam Pitroda, advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, has been conferred with an honorary degree by New York University's Polytechnic Institute, considered among America's most prestigious and oldest private schools specialising in engineering and technology. Pitroda gave the commencement address to the graduating class of about 1000 students at Polytechnic Institute of New York University (NYU-Poly) on Friday. He received a Doctor of Engineering, honoris causa, and joined...
08:41 PM, May 19, 2012
Thiruvananthapuram: Noted innovator, tech evangelist and policymaker Sam Pitroda has drawn up some 10 major projects for Kerala's resurgence that promise to change the face of the state, says Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. "We are confident that given Pitroda's acumen in projects that he will present, this is certainly going to change the face of the state in the near future," Chandy, currently in Mumbai to promote investments to the...
01:07 PM, May 15, 2012
Gandhinagar: Sam Pitroda, advisor to Prime Minister, on Tuesday said railways could add as much as two per cent to country's GDP if its operations are revamped and modernised. "Railways done right could add 2 per cent to GDP. It is used by common people, it is used to haul coal for our power plants...railways are the real reserve of this country," Pitroda, who is advisor to Prime Minister Manmohan...
05:05 AM, Apr 04, 2012
Patna: Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Sunday met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at the latter's official residence and reviewed the implementation of Central flagship schemes in the state. They discussed the progress in implementation of the Prime Minister Grameen Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) and reviewed other projects to be taken up for execution in 2012-13, an official release said. Ramesh directed Central agencies to complete all road projects under...
08:02 PM, Apr 01, 2012
Patna: There is no need to grant special category status to Bihar to help it woo private investment as the state has sufficient resources to develop on its own, Sam Pitroda, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Pubic Information Infrastructure and Innovations said on Sunday. "Everybody is asking for special assistance, including the states like West Bengal, Assam, Kerala and Bihar," Pitroda told newsmen here. It is not possible for...
07:43 PM, Apr 01, 2012
New Delhi: Seeking to raise an investment of close to Rs 6 lakh crore for railway modernisation, a high- level committee on Monday suggested levying a surcharge in this regard from passengers and disinvestment of railway PSUs among other options to generate funds. The Sam Pitroda-led committee has recommended that the modernisation surcharge from passengers be based on per passenger km basis which would help Railways generating the required fund....
08:02 PM, Feb 27, 2012
New Delhi: The Department of Telecom (DoT) has invited applications for TRAI Chairperson's post, which will fall vacant on the retirement of JS Sarma in May. The new telecom regulator will take over at a time when the industry will be bracing up for 2G spectrum auctions. TRAI has to issue recommendations as per the Supreme Court directive that cancelled 122 telecom licences this month. Besides, the new head will...
08:18 PM, Feb 20, 2012
New Delhi: Ahead of Rail Budget, Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi on Monday met Planning Commission Deputy Chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia as the national transporter looks to explore several avenues to shore up its finances and funds for its modernisation plans. At the hour-long meeting at the Rail Bhawan, the two are believed to have discussed threadbare the action plan of railways' resource mobilisation initiatives. The meeting assumes significance as the...
07:34 PM, Feb 13, 2012
