Cabinet clears extension of ITI quota for procurement by BSNL, MTNL, BBNL

The Cabinet on Thursday approved continuation of quota for state-owned ITI Ltd in procurement made by three telecom firms -- BSNL, MTNL and BBNL.

"Provision of procurement quota from BSNL, MTNL and BBNL will provide further boost to the order book of ITI and help in improving its financial health," an official statement said.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) Thursday approved the telecom department's proposal to continue the reservation quota policy for ITI Ltd by reserving 30 per cent of the procurement orders placed by BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd), MTNL (Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd) and BBNL (Bharat Broadband Network Ltd) for the products manufactured by the state owned telecom equipment maker.

The procurement quota will also include 20 per cent of the orders for the turnkey projects (like GSM network roll-out, Wi-Fi of BSNL and MTNL and BharatNet project network roll-out of BBNL), the statement said.

"The aforesaid policy measures shall remain in force for a period of three years with effect from the date of approval of CCEA. The policy shall again be reviewed considering the financial health of ITI after the expiry of this period," the statement added.

The move may also help in generating more job opportunities in the company particularly in the field of new telecom technologies, it added.

In order to enable ITI to survive in the competitive environment of telecom manufacturing, BSNL and MTNL have been extending reservation quota of 30 per cent to ITI Ltd.

The validity of reservation benefit extended to ITI had expired on May 31, 2018.