The best of BSNL & MTNL

Given their infrastructure assets, privatise the telecom PSUs

The state-owned telecommunications firms, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), have long been a drain on the public exchequer and on the state’s borrowing capacities. While only Rs 100 crore was set aside as direct budgetary support for the two majors in the last Union Budget, they were supposed to raise over Rs 15,000 crore through internal and extra-budgetary resources. BSNL, for example, in 2018-19 made a loss of almost Rs 14,000 crore, taking its accumulated losses to over Rs 90,000 crore. The company has almost 170,000 employees, whose wages consume 77 per cent of