BackBSNL revival package coming in one month: CMD
The company has been making losses continuously since 2009-10 and has been declared ‘incipient sick’DoT plans to fund BSNL VRS packages via a mix of ₹6,365 crore in cash and through bonds
PremiumNew Delhi: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd is passing through “a turbulent phase" which should be over in a couple of months and the government should come out with a revival package within one month, a top company official said Monday.
“BSNL is the least leveraged telecom company. We have certain legacy issues as we have large manpower," the company’s Chairman and managing director P K Purwar said on the sidelines of an event.
"BSNL should be able to launch 4G services in this financial year. We expect govt to allocate 4G spectrum in this calendar year," he said.
This is crucial as the lack of 4G spectrum makes it difficult to compete in the market where Jio launched services in 2016.
"Details of revival package will come in public domain within a month," he said.
The company has been making losses continuously since 2009-10 and has been declared ‘incipient sick’.
The company has also sought spectrum by equity infusion of ₹6,767.5 crore.
The department of telecommunications (DoT) is currently working on a revival plan for it which suggests a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for BSNL’s employees and monetization of the company’s land.
BSNL, as of March 2018, owned land worth ₹70,000 crore and buildings worth ₹3,760 crore.
DoT plans to fund BSNL VRS packages via a mix of ₹6,365 crore in cash and through bonds. BSNL has 176,000 employees. The VRS, however, needs to be approved by the Telecom Commission, an apex decision-making panel of the DoT, and the Union Cabinet.
BSNL also has huge tower assets. Its subsidiary BSNL Tower Corp. Ltd. (BTCL), was incorporated in January 2018. The idea is to improve cash flow for BSNL, which has not yet transferred the towers to BTCL. The new tower company will set up a joint venture company with a partner, preferably within two years, on achieving financial health and stability with the objective of monetisation of its assets, former telecom minister Manoj Sinha had informed the Lok Sabha on 13 February.
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