Introduction
- Regarding the number of subscribers, the Indian telecom industry is the second largest in the world. Moreover, the recent adaptation of 4G has increased data usage.
- The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is serving as a significant backbone to the data revolution that India is facing.
- TRAI was established in 1997 with the effect of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act.
- TRAI ensures that the interests of both consumers and service providers remain protected.
- This statutory body is set up by Government of India and is headquartered in New Delhi.
- For any further information, refer website: main.trai.gov.in
Functions
- The act vested TRAI the power to regulate the telecom services, which was previously done by the Central Government.
- Since then, TRAI has worked to provide a fair and transparent policy environment in the telecom sector such that there is a level playing field for all the parties involved. Thus, facilitating fair competition.
- All the adjudicatory and dispute functions of TRAI are taken over by the Telecommunications Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT).
- Established through an Act of the parliament, TRAI issues numerous regulations from time to time. Besides, it also issues orders and directive to handle the problems concerning the Indian telecom market.
Structure
Organization Structure:
- A Secretariat administers TRAI, which is headed by a secretary.
- In consultation with the Chairman, all the proposals are processed by the Secretary.
- The Secretary shall also organize the agenda for the authority meetings, prepare minutes of the meetings, and issue regulations as decided in the meetings.
- In all the processes, the Secretary is assisted by the advisors.
| Structure | Designation | Name |
|---|---|---|
| Authority | Chairman | Dr. R.S. Sharma |
| Member | H Pradeep Rao, Lt. Gen. Nitin Kumar Kohli, Prof. Abhay Karandikar | |
| Set up | Secretary | Sunil K. Gupta |
| Pr. Advisor | Debkumar Chakrabarti, Sunil Bajpai, U.K. Srivastava, Shailendra Kumar Mishra. | |
| Advisor | Arvind Kumar, Anil Kumar, Sanjeev Banzal, Asit Kadayan, Sunil Kr. Singhal, Syed Tausif Abbas, Kaushal Kishore. | |
| Regional Offices | Secretary | Sunil K Gupta |
| Advisor RO | Shreenivas S. Galgali, Bhavna Sharma, Souvick Kumar Das, Munisekhar Avileli, Arvind Sinha. |
Chairman
- Ram Sewak Sharma is serving as the current Chairman of TRAI.
- Born in 1955, Mr. R S Sharma pursued schooling from his village in Uttar Pradesh and thereafter joined the University of Allahabad to complete Bachelor of Sciences.
- In 1978, Mr. R S Sharma cleared the batch of Indian Administrative Service.
- Before appointment as the Chairman, Mr. R S Sharma worked as the Secretary to the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DEIT) under the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) under the Government of India.
Recruitment
- TRAI invites offline applications for recruitment in various posts, including Assistant and Joint Advisor or Deputy Advisor.
- The applicants who want to apply for the post must be graduates or postgraduates in the fields of economics, business administration, law, sciences, and commerce from any recognized university or institute.
- Candidates must possess prior work experience as officers in central government and central PSU's.
- The candidates must be less than 56 years of age at the time of applying for the job.
- Selection of candidates is made from qualification and interviews conducted by TRAI.