Nripendra Misra is new TRAI chief

Category: Government | No Comments | Posted on March 23, 2006

Nripendra Misra is the new chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Pradip Baijal, the existing chairman, retired on Tuesday.

He will be the first TRAI chairman who has prior experience in the telecom sector. Misra has worked as chairman of the telecom commission and as secretary of the department of telecommunications (DoT).

Misra’s appointment as the new chairman is likely to end an unhealthy relationship between TRAI and the DoT. During the past year, TRAI and DoT opposed each other on almost all important decisions.

Misra’s brief would be to evolve a regulatory framework that did not curtail technological evolution, considering that boundaries between the platforms for telecom, broadcasting and broadband were rapidly blurring. Misra will also have the tough task of reviewing further reduction in access deficit charge within two months of taking charge, and also oversee its eventual withdrawal by 2009.

Related: Nripendra Misra tipped to be new TRAI chief

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