Lok Sabha Question No. 500 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-06
Subject: BSNL and MTNL Network
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Sanjay Haribhau Jadhav, Omprakash Bhupalsinh alias Pawan Rajenimbalkar, Vinayak Bhaurao Raut

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 500 TO BE ANSWERED ON 6 TH  DECEMBER, 2023

## BSNL AND MTNL NETWORK

## †500.   SHRI SANJAY JADHAV: SHRI OMPRAKASH BHUPALSINH ALIAS PAWAN RAJENIMBALKAR: SHRI VINAYAK RAUT:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the condition of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) networks in the country particularly in rural areas is very bad and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the steps taken by the Government to improve the said condition;
- (c) whether BSNL and MTNL are on the verge of collapse within the public communication system and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether the public communication system is being affected due to the poor performance of BSNL and MTNL;
- (e) if so, the details thereof along with the figures of loss incurred by BSNL and MTNL in the last ten years;
- (f) the  various  effective  measures  being  taken  by  the  Government  to  strengthen  BSNL  and MTNL; and
- (g) the details of the appropriate steps taken by the Government for permanent solution in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS (SHRI DEVUSINH CHAUHAN)

(a) to (g) The mobile and landline services provided by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) are working satisfactorily and meeting most of the Quality of Service (QoS) parameters as per Performance Monitoring Report (PMR) of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

The revival package in 2019 amounting to Rs. 69,021 Crore brought down the operating costs of BSNL/MTNL. The revival package of 2022 amounting to around Rs. 1.64 Lakh Crore was focused on infusing fresh capital, restructuring debt, Viability Gap funding for rural telephony etc.

As a result, BSNL has started earning operational profit from  2020-21.

Further, in line with Atmanirbhar initiative, BSNL has placed purchase order for 1 lakh sites for deployment of indigenous 4G technology.

The profits/losses incurred by BSNL and MTNL during the last 10 years are as below:

| Rs. in Crore   | Rs. in Crore      | Rs. in Crore         | Rs. in Crore      | Rs. in Crore         |
|----------------|-------------------|----------------------|-------------------|----------------------|
| Financial Year | BSNL              | BSNL                 | MTNL              | MTNL                 |
|                | Net Profit/(Loss) | EBITDA Profit/(Loss) | Net Profit/(Loss) | EBITDA Profit/(Loss) |
| 2013-14        | (7,019)           | (691)                | 7825.13           | (527.15)             |
| 2014-15        | (8,234)           | 673                  | (2,893.39)        | (304.20)             |
| 2015-16        | (4,859)           | 2,931                | (2,005.74)        | (420.77)             |
| 2016-17        | (4,793)           | 1,684                | (2,970.57)        | (409.35)             |
| 2017-18        | (7,993)           | (2,858)              | (2,970.65)        | (439.29)             |
| 2018-19        | (14,904)          | (8,341)              | (3,397.58)        | (703.31)             |
| 2019-20        | (15,500)          | (6,879)              | (3,811.00)        | (782.20)             |
| 2020-21        | (7,441)           | 1,177                | (2,454.24)        | 524.92               |
| 2021-22        | (6,982)           | 944                  | (2,616.57)        | 295.87               |
| 2022-23        | (8,161)           | 1,559                | (2,915.22)        | 160.04               |

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