tech_genie
Member
- Joined
- 20 Sep 2012
- Messages
- 879
- Reaction score
- 697
Trinamool govt smells scam in Set Top Box procurement
Asks Centre why domestic firms not involved
Apprehending a “scam” in giving contracts of Set Top Boxes (STBs) to two foreign companies, the Trinamool Congress on Saturday asked the Centre to explain why domestic companies were not assigned to supply the STBs.
The Centre should come clean on why contacts were given to two foreign companies, state Urban Development Minister and Trinamool leader Firhad Hakim said on Saturday. The way in which contacts were given to foreign companies by depriving domestic ones raises suspicion of a scam, he said.
“Why were STBs not manufactured in the country? Why was the requisite research and development (R&D) not conducted? Why is there so much dependence on foreign countries in procuring STBs? The Centre should come clean on these questions,” Hakim said.
The Centre, the minister said, has been procuring STBs from two companies based in China and South Korea. “When the foreign reserve of the country is on a steady decline and value of rupee is falling, what prompted the Centre to purchase the STBs from foreign countries,” he asked. “In case a fault is detected in the STB, the consumer has to buy a new STB and that too from the supplying company because STBs are not manufactured in the country,” he said.
What irked the minister is the Centre’s silence on the state government’s appeal to extend the digitisation deadline that ends on October 31. The state government has repeatedly told the Centre that it is not possible for them to force all the Kolkatans to install STBs in their homes before Pujas. “I have not yet received any response from the Centre and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). There are reports in news papers that the Centre might extend the deadline, but I would not comment on this before getting an official response,” Hakim said.
In Kolkata, only 20 lakh cable connections were digitised so far while another 20 lakh connections are yet to be digitised. The state government has said that if the cable connection went off the air after October 31, law and order trouble will emerge in Kolkata. “We are trying to convince TRAI. The Centre says about 9 lakh households in Kolkata have not opted for STBs, but reports available to us say that 20 lakh connections have not been digitised so far,” Hakim said.
Source: Trinamool govt smells scam in Set Top Box procurement - Express India
Asks Centre why domestic firms not involved
Apprehending a “scam” in giving contracts of Set Top Boxes (STBs) to two foreign companies, the Trinamool Congress on Saturday asked the Centre to explain why domestic companies were not assigned to supply the STBs.
The Centre should come clean on why contacts were given to two foreign companies, state Urban Development Minister and Trinamool leader Firhad Hakim said on Saturday. The way in which contacts were given to foreign companies by depriving domestic ones raises suspicion of a scam, he said.
“Why were STBs not manufactured in the country? Why was the requisite research and development (R&D) not conducted? Why is there so much dependence on foreign countries in procuring STBs? The Centre should come clean on these questions,” Hakim said.
The Centre, the minister said, has been procuring STBs from two companies based in China and South Korea. “When the foreign reserve of the country is on a steady decline and value of rupee is falling, what prompted the Centre to purchase the STBs from foreign countries,” he asked. “In case a fault is detected in the STB, the consumer has to buy a new STB and that too from the supplying company because STBs are not manufactured in the country,” he said.
What irked the minister is the Centre’s silence on the state government’s appeal to extend the digitisation deadline that ends on October 31. The state government has repeatedly told the Centre that it is not possible for them to force all the Kolkatans to install STBs in their homes before Pujas. “I have not yet received any response from the Centre and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). There are reports in news papers that the Centre might extend the deadline, but I would not comment on this before getting an official response,” Hakim said.
In Kolkata, only 20 lakh cable connections were digitised so far while another 20 lakh connections are yet to be digitised. The state government has said that if the cable connection went off the air after October 31, law and order trouble will emerge in Kolkata. “We are trying to convince TRAI. The Centre says about 9 lakh households in Kolkata have not opted for STBs, but reports available to us say that 20 lakh connections have not been digitised so far,” Hakim said.
Source: Trinamool govt smells scam in Set Top Box procurement - Express India
