The merger of BSNL and MTNLBSE 3.28 percent is “desirable” for operational synergy and even the fiercely- competitive telecom market necessitates such a combination for a stronger pan-India play, a top MTNL official has notified the media fraternities.
The comment comes amid what seems to be a renewed push for BSNL-MTNL merger with a Parliamentary panel report recently noting that the Telecom Department plans to place the merger proposal before the Cabinet by June.
Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha, however, said in a written reply in Parliament that there was no such proposal at present for the merger of BSNL and MTNL.
Mahanagar Telephone Nigam LtdBSE 3.28 percent (MTNL) offers services in Delhi and Mumbai. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), on the other hand, operates across rest of India.
MTNL CMD P K Purwar felt that there are operational synergies between the two telecom PSUs and that merger is a natural outcome for realising their full potential.
BSNL CMD Anupam Shrivastava had pointed out that issues pertaining to debt and salary structure will have to be sorted out first. Purwar said such issues can be resolved. The debt issue can be sorted out if MTNL’s surplus land and buildings along with debt are hived off into a separate company.
In 2015-16, MTNL reported a total annual revenue of Rs 31.9741 billion and net loss of Rs 20.0572 billion.The total debt of MTNL reached Rs 194.1823 billion at the end of December 31, 2016, according to official data. The losses of BSNL have narrowed to Rs 48.9 billion for the first nine-month period of the current fiscal, from Rs 61.21 billion in the year-ago period. It posted a 5.8 per cent increase in income from services at Rs 193.796 billion during the period under review .
By Baishakhi Dutta
