Adani stuck with 5G spectrum, may seek extension of deadline

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After taking the industry by surprise with its decision to buy 5G spectrum in auction last year, Adani Group now says that it is unable to find suitable use cases and is going to miss the year-one rollout obligations set by the government. Adani Data Networks, which acquired the spectrum in August last year, has decided to approach the department of telecommunications (DoT) seeking additional time to meet the rollout obligations, the deadline for which is August. For missing the timelines, penalties are levied on the companies concerned. At a recent meeting convened by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) for a status check on rollout obligations, Adani Group said that it has too little spectrum – 50-100 MHz – and is, therefore, not able to find suitable use cases to roll out any kind of services. The company told Trai that it has no option but to seek additional time from the DoT.

RBI to scrutinise Kotak appointment

The Reserve Bank of India may be examining the proposal to re-appoint billionaire banker Uday Kotak as a non-executive director on the board of Kotak Mahindra Bank after his term ends in December. In the e-voting that ended April 20, 2023, about 99% of the 10,026 voting shareholders of Kotak Mahindra Bank voted in favour of appointing him as a non-executive, non-independent director after he steps down as the managing director and chief executive officer. RBI approval is not required for the appointment of non-executive directors on a bank’s boards. However, the central bank can intervene if it feels the appointment fails to meet its fit-and-proper criteria. Promoters who are managing directors and chief executives or whole-time directors cannot continue for more than 12 years, as per RBI’s April 2021 guidelines on corporate governance in banks. But the tenure could be extended to 15 years at the discretion of RBI.