The state-run telecom operator, BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) is proposed to get Rs 28,473 crore via the new budget announced on February 1, 2026. Apart from this, the telecom sector has been allocated Rs 73,000 crore in the budget for FY27. In FY26 budget, the state-run telecom company received Rs 6,885 crore, which means in FY27, the government has allocated more budget for the telco.
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Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Communications Minister, said, "We have seen a very healthy increase in allocation from RE (revised estimate) of last year, Rs 53,000 crore on telecom. We have grown to Rs 73,000 crore. That's almost 40%."
The minister said, "I mentioned to you that our ARPU (average revenue per user) grew by almost 9 per cent from Rs 90 to almost RS 99. We would like to touch three digits soon. We have grown revenue across the board across all our three verticals, and now we need this injection of capex along with our internal cash flows so that we can take BSNL on its path of resurgence."
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The increased budget for the telecom sector includes funds for the rural broadband project BharatNet. As for BSNL, 22,000 new 4G sites are under consideration by the government. The fund infusion will help BSNL in scaling business.
"So there are multiple issues that we're looking at from Bharatnet where the allocation is Rs 1,39,000 crore to spectrum for BSNL to its own internal requirements of capex, whether it be towers or be it media or battery, we are trying to fire on all cylinders," said Scindia. Alongside this, the government has also made it favourable for the foriegn companies to invest in the cloud infrastructure and services in India. The new budget has proposed a tax free environment for the foreign cloud companies who are investing in Indian data centers and offering services outside.
