Telecom minister Ravishankar Prasad, on October 22 said BSNL and MTNL will monetise their assets in order to retire their debts.
The minister laid out detailed plans to revive the two beleaguered companies that included raising Rs 15,000 crore via sovereign bonds, voluntary retirement scheme, capital infusion worth of RS 22,000 crore to buy 4G spectrum, among others.
The BS report further said this move to use InvIT to revive BSNL could be a confidence booster for the InvIT business. "The InvIT market touched a value of Rs 40,000 crore recently, but so far it has raised money only from the private sector," the report said.
It is noteworthy that the DoT sent a proposal to the cabinet for a revival plan worth Rs 74,000 crore for the ailing state-run telecom firms - BSNL and MTNL - where Rs 22,000 crore would be in the way of capital infusion for acquiring 4G spectrum, and for a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS), part of the expenditure for which will be borne by both companies.
BSNL, which is yet to pay employee salaries, has a monthly bill of Rs 850 crore on this count, and has a staff 1.76 lakh on its rolls. While the company generates monthly revenues of Rs 1,600 crore, a major chunk of this is used for operational and statutory payments, which has caused the delay in paying salaries. The company also posted a net loss of Rs 13,804 crore in fiscal 2018-19.
The minister laid out detailed plans to revive the two beleaguered companies that included raising Rs 15,000 crore via sovereign bonds, voluntary retirement scheme, capital infusion worth of RS 22,000 crore to buy 4G spectrum, among others.
The BS report further said this move to use InvIT to revive BSNL could be a confidence booster for the InvIT business. "The InvIT market touched a value of Rs 40,000 crore recently, but so far it has raised money only from the private sector," the report said.
It is noteworthy that the DoT sent a proposal to the cabinet for a revival plan worth Rs 74,000 crore for the ailing state-run telecom firms - BSNL and MTNL - where Rs 22,000 crore would be in the way of capital infusion for acquiring 4G spectrum, and for a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS), part of the expenditure for which will be borne by both companies.
BSNL, which is yet to pay employee salaries, has a monthly bill of Rs 850 crore on this count, and has a staff 1.76 lakh on its rolls. While the company generates monthly revenues of Rs 1,600 crore, a major chunk of this is used for operational and statutory payments, which has caused the delay in paying salaries. The company also posted a net loss of Rs 13,804 crore in fiscal 2018-19.
