Centre puts off spectrum auction due to shradh

Not taking any chances, the Centre on Monday put off its biggest spectrum auction by two days, from September 29 to October 1, to ensure it doesn’t fall in the inauspicious “shradh” period, when Hindus traditionally don’t buy new things or start new projects.

Shradh is followed by the Navratras, a nine-day festival that is considered auspicious, and many telecom giants were pressing the government for this change. The auction will now begin October 1, the first day of Navratra.

“Many people feel this is a good time to bid. If it gives them comfort to... spend more money to buy the spectrum, we are willing to change the date,” telecom secretary J.S. Deepak said last week.

The spectrum auction is expected to rake in Rs 5.63 lakh crores if all airwaves are bought at base prices. The government will put a total of 2,354.55 megahertz of mobile airwaves frequencies for auction.