DoT extends tenure of Patil committee

• The Telecom Ministry on Wednesday extended till January 31 the tenure of the one-man committee under retired Supreme Court judge Justice Shivraj V. Patil which is looking into the appropriateness of procedures followed in issuance of licences during 2001-2009.
• The government auditor CAG had alleged that several operators had suppressed information while applying for licences in 2007 to bag licences and 2G spectrum from former telecom minister A. Raja. The CAG has quantified revenue loss at a whopping presumptive Rs. 1.76 lakh crore due to the 2G spectrum scam.
• During 2001-04, the BJP-led NDA government was at the Centre. Mr. Raja had been saying that he had only followed the policies of his predecessors. He was forced to resign last month in the wake of CAG report that put the revenue loss to the exchequer at Rs. 1.76 lakh crore for distributing licences in 2008 at 2001 prices