BSNL CMD Purwar denied extension, DoT officer Robert Ravi to get additional charge.
The government has denied an extension to BSNL CMD P K Purwar.
The government has denied an extension to BSNL Chairman and Managing Director P K Purwar and is likely to assign the position to a senior Department of Telecom officer, Robert J Ravi, according to official sources. Purwar, who assumed the role of BSNL CMD in July 2019 for a five-year term, had requested an extension. "DoT is considering giving the additional charge of BSNL CMD to DDG Robert J Ravi. No decision has been made regarding the current CMD's extension request," an official source stated.
Robert J Ravi, an Indian Telecom Service officer, has 34 years of experience in the telecom sector and is currently serving as Deputy Director General at the Department of Telecom. This will be Ravi's second tenure at BSNL, where he previously served as Additional General Manager for about six years.
In a separate development, the government is exploring the possibility of transferring the operations of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) to BSNL through an agreement, rather than pursuing a merger, according to a source familiar with the matter. A final decision on this is expected within a month.
The source indicated that transferring the operations of debt-ridden MTNL to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) through an agreement is under consideration, as a merger with BSNL is not seen as a favorable option due to MTNL's high debt. Once a decision is made, the proposal will be submitted to the Committee of Secretaries and subsequently to the Cabinet.
Amid mounting financial difficulties, MTNL announced this week in a statutory filing that it is unable to make interest payments to certain bondholders "due to insufficient funds."
"The second semi-annual interest regarding the 7.59% MTNL bond series is due on July 20, 2024. As per the structured payment mechanism of the Tripartite Agreement (TPA) signed among MTNL, the Department of Telecom, and Beacon Trusteeship Ltd, MTNL is required to fund the semi-annual interest into the Escrow account with an adequate amount 10 days before the due date," the filing stated.
Due to insufficient funds, MTNL was unable to fund the Escrow account with the required amount, the corporation reported in its BSE filing.
While MTNL offers services in Delhi and Mumbai, BSNL operates nationwide (except in Delhi and Mumbai).
Despite private telecom companies like Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel increasing their subscriber base by leveraging Indian users' high demand for data and voice services, MTNL's customer base has declined—from 4.66 million (wireless and wireline) in January-March 2023 to 4.1 million a year later.
MTNL's losses rose to ₹3,267.5 crore in FY24 from ₹2,915.1 crore in FY23. Revenue from operations in the last fiscal year was ₹798.56 crore, a 14.6% decline from the previous year.
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