No plan to privatise BSNL, says Jyotiraditya Scindia

Denying rumours that state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) would be privatised, Union Minister of State for Telecom and IT Jyotiraditya Scindia said the public sector telecom major is only “thinking of coming out with an initial public offer (IPO)” and that too with a cap of 10 per cent.

The money generated through the public issue would be used to strengthen the BSNL network in far-flung areas, he said. There is a difference between privatisation and tapping the capital markets, he said adding that in order to capture investment and market share, an IPO is necessary.

“BSNL should focus on providing high-quality service so that it can attract people towards it and also compete with the private players instead of worrying about its future,” the minister said.

The number of towers in the state would reach 4,500 by 2009 from the 1,392 at present. He said the ministry’s target is to provide telecom services up to the panchayat level.

At present, there are 12 lakh landline connections in the state. In the last three months alone, 67,000 more landline connections were given. Bharat Sanchar has targeted three lakh more connections in the state by the year-end, he added.