Government Has No Plan to Privatise BSNL Despite Losses

The government of India has said that it has no plans to privatise state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL). The development was shared by Sanjay Dhotre, minister of state for communications, electronics and information technology in a reply to a question raised by Sridhar Kotagiri in Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Kotagiri asked the government whether it “proposes to lay down any plan to privatise BSNL and MTNL.” Dhotre said that the “government has no plan to privatise BSNL and MTNL.” It has to be noted that the Indian government in the recent weeks announced that it is working on completing the process of selling stakes in over 20 public sector companies.

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BSNL Incurred Losses in the Past Three Years

Further, Dhotre in a separate statement said that the BSNL had incurred losses consistently in the last three years. Dhotre in his response to a query in Lok Sabha highlighted that BSNL incurred Rs 7993 crores loss during the 2017-2018 financial year. The state-run operator is said to have registered Rs 14,904 crores in the 2019 financial year and Rs 15,500 crores loss in the 2020 financial year.

Dhotre also highlighted the government’s revival plan for BSNL announced in October, 2019. The Indian government’s revival plan included the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) for the employees aged 50 and above along with allotment of 4G spectrum, raising of sovereign guarantee bonds and monetisation of assets. Dhotre said that the “turnaround of BSNL will ensure the welfare and future prospects of its employees.”