The government has informed the parliament that the proposed merger plan of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) stands deferred owing to financial reasons including the high debt of the latter.
Earlier, in January 2021, BSNL took over MTNL’s mobile networks in two metropolitans of Delhi and Mumbai. Further, on March 23, 2022, the BSNL Employee Union (BSNLEU), in a letter to the prime minister, urged the deferment of the proposed merger, citing that such a move would impact the Cabinet approved revival plan for the BSNL.
Recently, the parliamentary standing committee on Communications and Information Technology also suggested the Department of Telecommunications to carve out MTNL’s debt and assets worth over Rs 265 billion into a special purpose vehicle (SPV) and recommended merging telco’s operations with that of BSNL. The centre has planned to create synergies between the two loss-making entities, and further merge their operations making a single entity.
