45. Creation of security interests.—The Central Government may provide for such security interest
which an authorised entity may provide to lenders financing such entities on such terms and conditions of
such security interest as may be prescribed.
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46. Certification of person for operation of radio equipment on a vessel or aircraft.—The
Central Government may grant certification to any person to operate a radio equipment on such class of
vessels registered under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 (44 of 1958), aircrafts registered under the
Aircraft Act, 1934 (22 of 1934) and any other category of vessels or vehicles as may be notified by the
Central Government, in accordance with such terms and conditions, including applicable fees and
charges, as may be prescribed.
47. Certification for amateur station operator.—The Central Government may by rules provide for
the manner of certification of person to install and operate an amateur station and such rules may specify
the qualifications and terms and conditions subject to which, a certification for operating an amateur
station may be granted, including through conduct of examinations for granting such certification, the fees
and charges to be paid thereof, and other connected matters.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this section,
(a) “amateur services” means radio communication services for the purpose of self-training,
intercommunication and technical investigations carried out by amateurs, that is, by duly
authorised person interested in radio technique solely with a personal aim and without any
pecuniary interest;
(b) “amateur station” means a radio station operated by an amateur for amateur services.
48. Prohibition of use of equipment which blocks telecommunication.—No person shall possess
or use any equipment that blocks telecommunication unless permitted by the Central Government, or any
authority authorised for specific purpose by the Central Government.
49. Penalties not to affect other liabilities.—(1) The penalties imposed pursuant to the provisions
of Chapter VIII or Chapter IX, shall be in addition to, and not in derogation of, any liability in respect of
payment of compensation or payment of any fees or charges due by an authorised entity or assignee.
(2) The provisions of this Act are in addition to and without prejudice to any other liability which a
person may have incurred under any other law for the time being in force.
50. Act to apply for offence or contravention committed outside India.—This Act shall apply to
any offence committed or contravention made outside India by any person if the act or conduct
constituting such offence or contravention involves a telecommunication service provided in India, or
telecommunication equipment or telecommunication network located in India.
51. Protection of action taken in good faith.—No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall
lie against the Central Government, the State Government, or any other authority under this Act or any
person acting on their behalf, as the case may be, for anything which is done in good faith, or intended to
be done in pursuance of this Act or any rule, regulation or order made thereunder.
52. Consistency with other laws.—(1) The provisions of this Act shall be in addition to, and not be
construed in derogation of the provisions of any other law, and shall be construed as consistent with such
law, for the time being in force.
(2) If any conflict arises between a provision of this Act and a provision of any other law for the time
being in force in the whole of India or restricted to the application within the territory of any State, the
provision of this Act shall prevail to the extent of such conflict.
53. Implementation of Act.—The implementation of the Act shall be digital by design and the
Central Government shall take any such measures as necessary to enable the digital implementation of the
Act.
54. Employee of authorised entity not to be compelled to appear as witness.—No employee of an
authorised entity shall, in any legal proceeding to which such authorised entity is not a party, be
compelled to appear as a witness to prove the information contained in any electronic records submitted
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under sub-section (4) of section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (1 of 1872), except as required by
order of the Court or a Judge made for special cause.
55. Rights in Continental Shelf and Exclusive Economic Zone.—The privilege of the Central
Government to grant authorisations or assignment under this Act in the Continental Shelf and the
Exclusive Economic Zone of India and the rights of an authorised entity or assignee, as the case may be,
shall be subject to the Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone and other
Maritime Zones Act, 1976 (80 of 1976), and applicable international laws as accepted and ratified by
India.
56. Power of Central Government to make rules.—(1) The Central Government may, by
notification, and subject to the condition of previous publication, make rules not inconsistent with the
provisions of this Act, to carry out the purposes of this Act.
(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may
provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:—
(a) the terms and conditions, including fees or charges for obtaining authorisation under
sub-section (1) of section 3;
(b) the manner of exemption for providing authorisation under sub-section (3) of section 3;
(c) the terms and conditions, including fees and charges, applicable to the original authorised
entity that emerges pursuant to any merger, demerger, acquisition, or other forms of restructuring,
under sub-section (5) of section 3;
(d) the terms and conditions for migration under sub-section (6) of section 3;
(e) the verifiable biometric based identification to be used by an authorised entity of
telecommunication services under sub-section (7) of section 3;
(f) the terms and conditions, including fees or charges for allotment of telecommunication
identifiers for use by authorised entities under sub-section (8) of section 3;
(g) the terms and conditions for the assignment of spectrum, including the frequency range,
methodology for pricing, price, fees and charges, payment mechanism, duration and procedure under
sub-section (3) of section 4;
(h) the manner of exemptions for assignment of spectrum under sub-section (7) of section 4;
(i) the terms and conditions for re-farming and harmonisation under section 5;
(j) the terms and conditions, including applicable fees and charges, and any other relevant
condition subject to which the utilisation of the spectrum in a flexible, liberalised and technologically
neutral manner under section 6;
(k) the terms and conditions for optimal utilisation of spectrum under sub-section (1) of section 7;
(l) the period of unutilised spectrum for insufficient reasons and further terms and conditions
relating to spectrum utilisation under sub-section (2) of section 7;
(m) the terms and conditions, including applicable fees or charges for sharing, trading, leasing
and surrender of assigned spectrum, under sub-section (2) of section 8;
(n) ) the timeline for granting permission for right of way for telecommunication network in
public property; and the amount for administrative expenses and compensation for right of way under
sub-section (3) of section 11;
(o) the procedure to be followed by a facility provider to enter, survey, establish, operate,
maintain, repair, replace or relocate the telecommunication network, including the notice period, the
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manner of issuance of notice, the framework governing objections by owner or occupier of the
property, the manner in which such objections would be resolved, and matters relating to the
compensation payable for any damage under sub-section (5) of section 12;
(p) the terms and conditions, including charges for right of way, and compensation for damage to
the property, under sub-section (6) of section 12;
(q) the terms and conditions, including fees and charges subject to which the telecommunication
network to be made available on open access basis to facility providers under sub-section (2) of
section 15;
(r) the procedure and manner for giving prior notice under sub-section (1) of section 17;
(s) the timeline for responding the notice with details of telecommunication network and
precautionary measures to be undertaken by the facility provider under sub-section (2) of section 17;
(t) the procedure and safeguards for public emergency or public safety under sub-section (2) of
section 20;
(u) the duration and manner of taking action for public emergency or public safety under
sub-section (4) of section 20;
(v) the measures to protect and ensure cyber security of, telecommunication networks and
telecommunication services under sub-section (1) of section 22;
(w) the standards, security practices, upgradation requirements and procedures to be implemented
for the Critical Telecommunication Infrastructure under sub-section (4) of section 22;
(x) the manner for administration of Digital Bharat Nidhi under section 26;
(y) the manner and duration for creating Regulatory Sandbox under section 27;
(z) the measures for protection of users under sub-section (2) of section 28;
(za) the manner for registration of any grievance and redressal of such grievances pertaining to
the telecommunication service under sub-section (3) of section 28;
(zb) the terms and conditions for participating in the dispute resolution mechanism under
sub-section (2) of section 30;
(zc) the form, manner and fees to be accompanied with the complaint under sub-section (1) of
section 33;
(zd) the manner for holding inquiry by the Adjudicating Officer under sub-section (1) of section
35;
(ze) the form, manner and fees for filing an appeal before the Designated Appeals Committee
under sub-section (2) of section 36;
(zf) the techno-legal measures for functioning of the Adjudicating Officer and the Designated
Appeals Committee under sub-section (1) of section 37;
(zg) the terms and conditions of security interest under section 45;
(zh) the terms and conditions, including applicable fees and charges for granting certificates under
section 46;
(zi) the manner of certification, qualification, and terms and conditions, including fees and
charges for the examination for amateur station operator under section 47;
(zj) any other matter which is to be, or may be, prescribed, or in respect of which provision is to
be made by rules.
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(3) Every rule made under this Act and amendment to the Schedule made under section 57 shall be
laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total
period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and
if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid,
both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or amendment to the Schedule or both Houses
agree that the rule or amendment to the Schedule should not be made, the rule or amendment to the
Schedule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so,
however, any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything
previously done under that rule or amendment to the Schedule.
57. Power of Central Government to amend Schedules.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this
section, the Central Government may, by notification, —
(a) amend the First Schedule;
(b) amend the Second Schedule or the Third Schedule:
Provided that penalty or civil penalty specified in such Schedules shall be not exceeding ten crore
rupees.
(2) Any amendment made under sub-section (1) shall have effect as if enacted in this Act and shall
come into force on the date of the notification, unless the notification otherwise directs.
58. Power to remove difficulties.—(1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of
this Act, the Central Government may, by order published in the Official Gazette, make such provisions,
not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, as may be necessary or expedient, for removing the
difficulty:
Provided that no order shall be made under this section after the expiration of three years from the
date of commencement of this Act.
(2) Every order made under this section shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each
House of Parliament.
59. Amendment to Act 24 of 1997.—In the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997, —
(a) in section 2, —
(i) in sub-section (1),—
(A) for clause (e), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:—
‘(e) “licensee” means an authorised entity providing telecommunication services
under the Telecommunications Act, 2023, or registered for providing cable television
network under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 (7 of 1995) or any
other Act for the time being in force;';
(B) for clause (ea), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:—
‘(ea) “licensor” means the Central Government which grants an authorisation for
telecommunication services under the Telecommunications Act, 2023, or registration
under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 (7 of 1995) or any other
Act for the time being in force;';
(C) after clause (j), the following clause shall be inserted, namely: —
‘(ja) “telecommunication” shall have the meaning as assigned to it in the
Telecommunications Act, 2023;’;
(D) for clause (k), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:—
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‘(k) “telecommunication services” means any service for telecommunication;’;
(ii) in sub-section (2), for the words and figures “the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 (13 of 1885)
or the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933 (17 of 1933)”, the words, figures and brackets “the
Telecommunications Act, 2023 or the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 (7 of
1995)” shall be substituted;
(b) in section 4, for the proviso, the following provisos shall be substituted, namely:—
“Provided that a person who is, or has been, in the service of Government shall not be
appointed—
(a) as a Chairperson unless such person has held the post of Secretary to the Government
of India or any equivalent post in the Central Government or the State Government; or
(b) as a member unless such person has held the post of Additional Secretary to the
Government of India or any equivalent post in the Central Government or the State
Government:
Provided further that a person who is, or has been, in a service other than that of Government,
shall be appointed—
(a) as a Chairperson if such person has at least thirty years of professional experience and
has served as a member of the board of directors or a chief executive of a company in the
areas as specified in this section; or
(b) as a Member if such person has at least twenty-five years of professional experience
and has served as a member of the board of directors or chief executive of a company in the
areas as specified in this section.”;
(c) in section 11,—
(i) in sub-section (1), —
(A) for the words and figures “Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 (13 of 1885)”, the words,
figures and brackets “Telecommunications Act, 2023 or the Cable Television Networks
(Regulation) Act, 1995 (7 of 1995)” shall be substituted;
(B) in the fifth proviso, for the portion beginning with the words “may, within fifteen
days from the date of receipt” and ending with the words “take a final decision”, the
following shall be substituted, namely:—
“shall, within thirty days from the date of receipt of such reference communicate to the
Central Government any further recommendations that it may have, after considering the
reference made by the Central Government and after receipt of further recommendation if
any, the Central Government shall take a final decision.”;
(ii) in sub-section (2),—
(A) for the words and figures “Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 (13 of 1885)”, the words, figures
and brackets “Telecommunications Act, 2023 or the Cable Television Networks (Regulation)
Act, 1995 (7 of 1995)” shall be substituted;
(B) after the proviso, the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:—
“Provided further that the Authority may direct an authorised entity or class of authorised
entities providing telecommunication services, to abstain from predatory pricing that is
harmful to competition, long term development and the overall health of the
telecommunication sector.”;
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(d) in section 14, in clause (a),—
(i) sub-clause (i) shall be omitted;
(ii) for paragraph (C), the following shall be substituted, namely:—
“(C) any disputes to be adjudicated by the Adjudicating Officer or the Designated
Appeals Committee under the Telecommunications Act, 2023;
(iii) after clause (c), the following clause shall be inserted, namely:—
“(d) hear and dispose of appeals under section 39 of the Telecommunications Act, 2023.
Any action instituted under the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997
(24 of 1997) and pending immediately before the appointed day in the Telecom Disputes
Settlement and Appellate Tribunal, shall continue to be heard and disposed of by the Telecom
Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal as if this Act had not been passed;”;
(e) for section 38, the following section shall be substituted, namely:—
“38. Application of certain laws.—The provisions of this Act shall be in addition to the
provisions of the Telecommunications Act, 2023 and, in particular, nothing in this Act shall affect
any jurisdiction, powers and functions required to be exercised or performed by the appropriate
authority in relation to any area falling within the jurisdiction of such authority.”.