1. There needs to be a complete change in the way these Rules look at the Radio Amateur. The impression that I get upon reading them is that the Rules see Amateurs as a THREAT whereas, in actual practice, Amateurs are a GREAT ASSET to our Country. This has been proven time and again on several occasions, when Amateurs have given free, selfless service, right from “Morvi” in 1979 to the recent earthquake in Gujarat. 

2. The Rules and the Act must be made under the assumption that those who want to use the radio spectrum for illegitimate purposes would never dare to seek a license from the Government of India. By seeking a license, we Amateurs actually identify ourselves uniquely by a call sign and subject our credentials to thorough verification by the authorities. The very fact, therefore, that Amateurs do, indeed, seek a license is in itself a testimony to their honesty. 

Therefore, the FUNDAMENTAL change needed is that all applicable rules should be based on the premises of TRUST rather than on REGULATION.  Therefore: 

1. The age-old Log Book, in my opinion, is redundant. It should NOT be compulsory at all to maintain one, but should be left to the discretion of the individual Amateur whether he/she wants to maintain it or not.

2. Mobile operations on all the authorized bands should be TOTALLY UNRESTRICTED. On HF, for instance, one can communicate around the world. So, in real life, the distance from international borders or restricted areas does not really matter. 

3. Licensing procedures for all categories of licenses, including those for reciprocal licensing for foreign nationals, should be SIMPLE and FAST. To give you an example, my USA reciprocal license (call sign W4/VU2PCD) was delivered at my doorstep in India just by filling-up a half-page form on the internet!!! No exams, no fees, no visas, no documents, no delays. Why, in this age of information technology, can’t we do the same? 

4. I am a great fan of CW telegraphy and operate that mode quite frequently. However, CW telegraphy is gone. Why would one need to pass an exam in the Morse Code at all? My suggestion is to completely eliminate the Morse Code test and replace it with a section on basic understanding of Digital Electronics and skills of Computers. 

5. The following should be available on the Internet:

A)   All the latest Rules and the Act in full.

B)   Form for application for grant of license (for Indian and Foreign applicants).

C)   Form for license renewal.

D)  Form for issue of duplicate license.

E)   Form for issue of duplicate renewal slip.

F)    Syllabi for the ASOC Exam for each grade.

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