You must have heard about the telecom spectrum and coal block auctions which are underway in the country. Business page, any paper, every day, big numbers featuring big companies? Here is all you should know about this. And considering the crores of rupees changing hands over the next few days, you definitely NEED to know.

How does the auction happen?

The nodal ministries and departments announce dates and conditions for the auction; in this case, the Ministry of Coal and the Ministry of Communications and IT.

Applications are invited and screened and a final list of bidders is made. For coal blocks, MSTC Limited (formerly, Metal Scrap Trade Corporation) conducts an e-auction.

For telecom spectrum bands, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) conducts the auction for the above listed frequencies.

What used to happen?

Around the 1990s, tenders and leases used to be granted through screening committees managed generally by bureaucrats or a system of first-come-first serve was followed.

Naturally, this became a labyrinth of corrupt and opaque allotments, with the CAG reporting "windfall gains" to the mining and telecom companies. Coal blocks were allocated at below market prices and spectrum was given off for peanuts. If not anything else, remember Coalgate and the 2G spectrum scam? Clearly, it was not working out.