The change is part of a shuffle by Indian prime minister Narenda Modi who split the communications and IT ministry. Sinha also serves as the minister of state for railways.
"He will do a good job at telecoms. He is among the most active, powerful and no-nonsense minister of state the ministry has even seen," an official who has worked with Sinha told the Economic Times.
Sinha takes over from Prasad at a time where India is set for what could be its largest ever spectrum auction – expected to raise as much as €74 billion – in the coming months.
In addition, Sinha will have to lead the ongoing debate on net neutrality in the country. Trai has begun the pre-consultation process on net neutrality and has received feedback and comments from industry stakeholders.
The government is expected to state its position on net neutrality after receiving the recommendation.
