Centre approves Rs 89,000 crore revival plan for BSNL

The Union cabinet on June 6 approved a revival package of Rs. 89,047 crore for the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), said an official statement.

As per the statement, the decision was taken during a cabinet meeting which was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

''In a significant move, as part of the revival strategy, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, today approved the third revival package for BSNL with a total outlay of Rs. 89,047 crore,'' the statement added.
   
It further said that with this revival package, BSNL will emerge as a stable telecom service provider focused on providing connectivity to the remotest parts of India.

''The authorized capital of BSNL will be increased from Rs. 1,50,000 crore to Rs. 2,10,000 crore,'' the statement said.

The government had approved the first revival package for BSNL/MTNL in 2019 which amounted to Rs. 69,000 crore and brought stability to BSNL/MTNL. Later, in 2022, Government approved a second revival package for BSNL/MTNL amounting to Rs 1.64 Lakh crore.   

''It provided financial support for capex, viability gap funding for rural landlines, financial support for de-stressing the balance sheet, and settlement of AGR dues, the merger of BBNL with BSNL, etc. As a result of these two packages, BSNL has started earning operating profits since FY 2021-22. The total debt of BSNL has reduced from Rs. 32,944 crore to Rs. 22,289 crore,'' it added.

Besides this, the Union cabinet also approved the allotment of 4G/5G Spectrum to BSNL.

With this spectrum allotment, BSNL will be able to provide pan India 4G and 5G services, provide 4G coverage in rural and uncovered villages under various connectivity projects, provide Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) services for high-speed internet, and provide services/spectrum for Captive Non-Public Network (CNPN).

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