Much needed bailout: The Hindu editorial on ₹1.64 lakh crore lifeline to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited.

Cabinet’s decision to provide a lifeline of ₹ 1.64 lakh crore to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, The move comes as a badly needed shot for the loss-making public sector telecom provider. Nearly three years after the government last announced plans to revive BSNL and its smaller counterpart Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), the government has of late realized that the main public sector telcos in the “strategic sector” have enough There is any further delay in funding. “Risks to compromise our goals of bridging the digital gap and ensuring the development of an inclusive knowledge society. Anything but the urgency of providing significant capital support to meet the multiple financial, technology and spectrum needs facing the erstwhile monopoly provider of telecom services vis–vis the accelerated erosion in its subscriber base in the 31 months since October 2019 No, when the earlier revival plan was approved. BSNL’s share of wireline connections fell sharply to 28.7% at the end of May 2022, for a company that held commanding heights of landline (wireline) connections until the sector opened up to private companies in the 1990s and the entry of wireless telephony, From 46.6% in October 2019. In the same period, the total number of wireline connections increased by 17.6% to 2.52 crore. On the larger wireless front, BSNL’s already small share declined marginally to 9.85% on May 31, with the subscriber base falling by 45 lakh to 11.28 crore. The only consolation was that its rural wireless subscriber base declined by just 11.4 million, reflecting both the ubiquity of its network in remote areas and remote checkpoints in major border areas, and relatively higher loyalty in rural areas.

The intervening period has seen BSNL reduce its workforce, making it a lighter ship and better positioned to navigate the edge of a competitive, and technologically rapidly evolving market. From an employee base that was more than 1.65 lakhs, and consumed about 75% of its total income, the public sector enterprise increased the number of regular employees on its rolls to 64,536 as on March 31, 2021 with the ratio of employee benefit expense was reduced. More than halving the total income by 36%. BSNL’s net loss also narrowed significantly to ₹ 7,453 crore at the end of the financial year ended March 2021. Recognizing the vital role of the public sector telco in “expansion of telecom services in rural areas, development of indigenous technology and disaster relief”, the government has decided to allocate spectrum, help the provider upgrade its services and maintain its balance sheet. earmarked reception funds for each of the selected focus areas, including severely reducing The coming months will test the commitment and resolve of the government and BSNL management in marshaling the resources in a time bound manner, given how important the state-owned company is as a ‘market balancer’ for the overall health of the industry.