No proposal to merge BSNL, MTNL

Union Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha has said that there is no proposal to merge loss making public sector telecom operator MTNL with BSNL. “At present, there is no proposal for merger of BSNL and MTNL,” Sinha said in a written answer in the Lok Sabha.

Though BSNL has seen improvement in its performance, MTNL’s net loss for the year ended March 2017, widened to Rs 2,963.05 crore from Rs 1,945.86 crore at the end of previous fiscal.
The annual income of MTNL also declined by 3.6% to Rs 3,654.69 crore for 2016-17 from Rs 3,793.89 crore at the end of 2015-16.

Based on the financial results of MTNL for the financial year 2016-17, the telecom operator has been classified as “Incipient Sick CPSE” as per Department of Public Enterprise (DPE) Guidelines.
“As per the DPE guidelines, Department of Telecommunications has to formulate revival/ restructuring/ closure road map for MTNL, the process of which has been initiated,” Sinha said.

He said the government has taken various steps to make BSNL and MTNL viable in the background of stiff competition in the telecom sector. These measures include refund of surrendered BWA (Broadband Wireless Access) spectrum in two service areas held by MTNL and in six service areas held by BSNL.