The newly formed NDA government yesterday announced the names and portfolios of the newly appointed new Union Cabinet. The names relevant to the digital industry are: Ravi Shankar Prasad, in charge of the ministry of Communications & Information Technology (including Telecom ), and the Law and Justice ministry. While India is taking a strong stand globally on Internet Governance, and it helps to have a telecom minister who understands law, we're not sure if this is a good idea. Telecom is an infrastructure sector, and techonology and connectivity is critical for development of almost every other sector. It suffered in the hands of the previous UPA government, riddled with scams and expensive auctions, which have forced some telecom operators to shut, and others to sell out. The cost of the auctions are being transferred to consumers, and the focus appears to be now be on milking the base (Airtel, for example), instead of growing it. High speed Internet is nowhere to be seen in India, and while mobile might not be able to support substantive data usage, wireline access to the Internet is stagnant. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had spoken about 'the convergence of ministries', prior to the announcement of the Cabinet, saying. It is a good beginning in transforming entity of assembled ministries to Organic Ministries. It will bring more coordination between different departments, will be more effective and bring a speed in process. The focus is on convergence in the activities of various Ministries where one cabinet Minister will be heading a…
