Articles by V Sridhar

India has one of the lowest diffusion rates for broadband among the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa grouping, or BRICS. India has also been very slow in terms of the diffusion of mobile phone services. While it took only five years for mobile phone services to reach a diffusion rate of 75%, after 10 years the diffusion rate of broadband has not even reached 10%. In this context, this study attempts to measure the rate of diffusion of broadband in the country, identifies the factors that determine its adoption at the subscriber level, and discusses the policy challenges for hastening the diffusion rate.

After a command and control paradigm of spectrum management lasting from 2001 to 2008, India has gone in for a phased transition to a liberalised regime. Notable elements of this change include the unbundling of spectrum from the service licence, the choice of the auction mechanism for the assignment of spectrum and the freedom to use a spectrum block with any technology. However, elements of the current scenario of spectrum markets in India indicate that there remains an unfinished agenda in spectrum liberalisation. These include a high price of spectrum compared to international benchmarks, low spectrum holding per operator, and vast tracts of unutilised spectrum in rural areas. The lacunae in the current framework of spectrum management leading to persisting inefficiencies are elaborated upon and solutions proposed.

This article examines the recommendations of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India for preventing the "winner's curse" and promoting a healthy competitive environment for sustaining the growth of this exponentially growing industry.

Individuals and communities are under pressure to cope with the changes brought about by a churn in socio-economic conditions. The policies associated with the process of economic liberalisation have imposed a stress on the peasantry leading to suicides. The tragic developments in rural Andhra Pradesh should compel us to draw important lessons for India's agrarian economy.