New Delhi: Public sector telecom firm BSNL's revenue has increased by about 19 percent to Rs 25,000 crore in two years due to improvement in infrastructure, an official statement said on Monday.
The statement, citing an interview of Minister of State for Communications Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani to public broadcaster Prasar Bharti, said the methodical approach for the transformation of BSNL has led to improvement in its financial performance.
"The financial turnaround is striking. BSNL's revenue has grown from Rs 21,000 crore to Rs 25,000 crore, a healthy 20-25 percent increase in two years. More significantly, EBITDA has jumped dramatically from just Rs 50 crore to nearly Rs 7,000 crore, reflecting improved operational efficiency and a clear path to profitability," Pemmasani said.
Follow The PSUWatch Channel on WhatsApp
BSNL had reported a total income of Rs 23,427 crore in FY25 and Rs 21,302 crore in FY24.
The minister said that a systematic review of BSNL performance by him and Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia led to a detailed analysis of issues that were plaguing the state-owned firm.
"In states like Andhra Pradesh, tower uptime was only 75 per cent. We set a target of 95 per cent, replaced 50,000 batteries across 50,000 towers, upgraded power plants and replaced ageing cables. We then set systematic targets at every circle and state level for enterprise business and new mobile connections," Pemmasani said.
He said that BSNL's tariffs are much cheaper than those of private players.
"We are giving one rupee SIM cards through India Post offices so people can try our service. We are also working with India Post to ensure doorstep awareness in rural areas, where postal workers actively explain BSNL's improved services. In villages, where BSNL is the only reliable option, people should definitely subscribe," the minister said.
Pemmasani said that a proud milestone has been the rapid rollout of indigenous 4G technology.
Follow PSU Watch on LinkedIN
"We launched indigenous 4G on 1,00,000 towers within a single year and have now perfected it to near-global standards. India is now only the fifth country in the world to develop such deep indigenous 4G technology," he said.
(PSU Watch– India's Business News centre that places the spotlight on PSUs, Bureaucracy, Defence and Public Policy is now on Google News. Click here to follow. Also, join PSU Watch Channel in your Telegram. You may also follow us on Twitter here and stay updated.)