New Government To Take Up BSNL, MTNL Revival Plans

New Government To Take Up BSNL, MTNL Revival Plans

New Delhi: The Finance Ministry has asked the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to re-examine the revival proposals for the telecom firms BSNL and MTNL and submit these to the new government that will take office after the ongoing general elections, a senior official source said on Tuesday.

This implies, according to the source, that there is no immediate move, in the next few months till a new government settles down, to revive both central public sector enterprises (CPSEs).

Last month, the DoT had floated a draft cabinet note for consultation among ministries on the revival of BSNL and MTNL.

In response, the Finance Ministry has now asked the DoT to rework the proposals, indicating both the steps and the financial outgo involved and submit these to the new government.

The two key issues in the revival proposal are the voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) and allocation of 4G spectrum.

According to the source, both Finance Ministry and DoT are of the view that there may not be any need to consider financial support to the companies for VRS since the employees of these telcos are covered by the government pension rules relevant for CPSEs carved out of ministries.

Both BSNL and MTNL have been carved out of DoT. The issue of allocation of 4G spectrum has also been left for the consideration of the next government at the Centre, the source added. (IANS)

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