To give a momentum to the growth of Indian economy, the early 1990s witnessed a wave of rigorous reforms. Even one of the most vibrant sectors of the service basket i.e., telecom could not resist this wave. Hence, two major National Telecom Policies (1994 and 1999) were the outcome. However, mere policy formation is always a futile exercise unless accompanied by proper and timely implementation. Therefore, the present paper attempts to appraise the National Telecom Policy (NTP) 1999 for assessing the success of realization of its objectives. The study found that except for some areas like rural services; this policy has been successfully implemented.

Indian economy is on the path to resurgence due to the reforms initiated by the Indian policy makers in the 1990s. The key emphasis of these reforms was to boost the financial, economic, as well as the infrastructural foundation of the nation. Communication is considered to be the mainstay of development of any country and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is leading the path of growth. In the 1990s, the scenario was not much pleasant in India and the telecom services were hardly affordable and reachable to the common masses. This in turn was acting as a hurdle for trade and industry. Keeping these in mind, the telecom sector was also kept under the purview of reforms and two national telecom policies were initiated in the 1990sNational Telecom Policy (NTP) of 1994 and 1999. Both these policies were supposed to revolutionize the telecom sector in this country of 1,000 billion people. These policies aimed at reforming the target sector from the core, henceforth contributing to the development of the country.

In view of the aims of policy makers in the Indian telecom sector, the present paper attempts to evaluate the extent of fulfillment of the objectives of NTP, 1999, thereby contributing to the development of the country. Though a number of studies have been carried out in the telecom sector in India, most of these remained limited only to the aspects of growth and performance of the sector. Therefore, the present study is an attempt to fill this gap by looking back at the policy framework and its fulfillment.

Infrastructure Journal, National Telecom Policy, Indian Economy, Information and Communication Technology, Telecom Services, Indian Telecom Sector, Economic Goals, Broadband Services, Cellular Services, Indian Telecom Companies, World Trade Organization, Foreign Direct Investments, Internet Service Providers, Joint Venture Projects.