MTNL borrowing money to meet day-to-day expenses: Manoj Sinha

Debt on MTNL reached Rs 19,418.23 cr at Dec 31, 2016 end, from Rs 11,542.3 cr in 2012-13, Sinha said

Loss-making telecom PSU Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) has been hit hard by debt and it is borrowing money to meet its day-to-day requirements, Union Minister Manoj Sinha said on Friday.

"Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) is borrowing money to meet its day-to-day requirement," Sinha said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

Total debt on MTNL reached Rs 19,418.23 crore at the end of December 31, 2016, from Rs 11,542.3 crore in 2012-13, according to the data shared by the minister. The debt is over six times MTNL's annual revenue registered in 2015-16.

"Due to debt burden and fund crunch, MTNL has gone slow in upgradation of equipment during last 4-5 years. One of the reasons for service quality is due to non-investment in access network of fixed lines," Sinha said.

In 2015-16, MTNL reported total annual revenue of Rs 3,197.41 crore and net loss of Rs 2,005.72 crore.