The government is considering disbanding the 37-year-old Digital Communications Commission (DCC), formerly known as the Telecom Commission, according to reports from Mint. The commission, established in 1989, is responsible for formulating the Department of Telecommunications' policies for government approval, preparing the department's annual budget and getting it approved by the government, and implementing government policy in telecommunication matters. However, due to work overlaps between DoT members and advisers, as well as delays in policy decisions due to unavailability of other members, there has been a long-standing need to move to a different structure.
The finance ministry has already taken control of the budget approval process for the telecom department's projects and schemes, as reported by Mint. This development, combined with the structural issues within the commission, has prompted the government to consider disbanding the DCC. The move assumes significance as members in technology and services verticals are retiring over the next few weeks, and the government has not yet advertised upcoming vacancies.
The DCC consists of a chairman, three full-time members—one each for finance, services and technology—who are ex-officio government secretaries, and four part-time members from other departments. The telecom secretary serves as the ex-officio chairman of the DCC. The part-time members include the chief executive officer of Niti Aayog, the economic affairs secretary, the IT secretary and the secretary in the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion. According to industry executives, there does not seem to be any succession plan now for the positions, with the DCC potentially facing full closure post the retirement of the member-finance early next year.
Disbanding the DCC completely could take some months, and in the interim, additional charge of the verticals could be given to advisers within the department, according to Mint reports. The matter is being taken up with the Union Cabinet. Former DCC member Dr Mahesh Shukla believes the commission should continue to function, stating that decisions taken collectively by a commission carrying secretaries from other departments carry greater weight than those made by a single secretary. However, telecom consultant Rakesh Mehrotra emphasized that what needs to be ensured is that decision-makers are trained in telecommunications, regardless of whether the DCC continues to exist.
Last year, the DCC conducted four meetings to consider and approve the telecom regulator's recommendations on ratings of buildings or areas for digital connectivity, a regulatory sandbox to encourage technology and innovation in the sector, telecom network authorizations, and some recommendations on satellite-based commercial communication, as reported by Mint. In 2018, the government re-designated the Telecom Commission as the DCC keeping in view the shift in the telecom sector from traditional services to a broader digital communications ecosystem, including 5G, internet of things (IoT) and data services. In 2023, media reports first discussed the proposal to disband the DCC, which did not proceed as the need was felt to continue with the existing structure given the authority of DCC and its members.
