Ratan Tata blasts government

Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata on Thursday criticised the government for protecting state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam and treating VSNL like a step child despite the opening up of the telecom sector.

Addressing VSNL shareholders at the company's annual general meeting here, Tata said the government was not providing a "fair level playing ground" to the competition.

"By protecting the incumbent, the government has made a mockery of privatisation. Even after divestment, the government continues to hold 26 per cent in VSNL."

However, the government was treating VSNL like a step child, Tata said. "By not providing a level-playing field for the competition, VSNL's value is going down. The government is hurting itself since it is the other largest shareholder in VSNL besides the Tatas," he said.

After losing its monopoly in international long-distance services and with telecom tariff rates declining sharply, the company has been reinventing itself. -- BS

Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata. Photo: Sebastian D'Souza/AFP/Getty Images

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