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ontroversies continue to shroud India's telecom sector. The latest row -- termed as independent India's largest financial scam -- is centered on the allocation of scarce 2G spectrum at throwaway prices.

Accusing Union Telecom Minister A Raja of orchestrating a Rs 60,000-crore (Rs 600 billion) scam, the opposition parties -- Bharatiya Janata Party and Communist Party of India (Marxist) -- have asked the government to fire the minister and institute probe into the alleged irregularities.

Here's more on what the latest telecom scam is all about...

What is the controversy over spectrum pricing?

Calling it the largest scam in independent India, the Bharatiya Janata Party has alleged that there were irregularities in allotting wireless radio spectrum and licences by the telecom ministry to nine private operators in 2007.

The government had in 2007 recommended an 'open licence regime'.

'Applications for telecom licences were invited setting Oct 1, 2007, as the deadline. An artificial cut-off date, Sep 25, 2007, was created and applications received between Sep 25 and Oct 1 were summarily rejected. Rules of the game were changed after the game had begun,' the BJP charged.

The BJP alleged that 'all friendly applicants, mostly real estate companies, had been advised to put in their applications before Sep 25'.

The licences and the spectrum allocation were then allotted to nine operators at a price of Rs 1,650 crore (Rs 16.50 billion) per operator. This price was not taken on the basis of the 2007 market value but on the basis of an auction held in 2001.

The value of the licence and spectrum in 2007 could not be the same as in 2001 as the telecom market has grown phenomenally during this period.

However, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said allegations about the scam were incorrect. The prime minister had earlier expressed his reservations about inducting A Raja in the Cabinet.

The CPI(M) said that the United Progressive Alliance government had given away scarce spectrum at a fraction of the market price leading to heavy revenue losses to the nation and that Raja must be sacked.