NEW DELHI: The Cabinet is soon expected to consider a formal proposal for the revival of cash-strapped state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), with an approval expected by month end, according to a person aware of the matter.
The decision was taken after a high-level meeting at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on Tuesday, despite the finance ministry reiterating its opposition on the revival package, citing additional financial burden on the state exchequer..
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) Secretary Anshu Prakash and BSNL Chairman PK Purwar were also present at the meeting.
The Narendra Modi-led government is looking at ways to reduce the financial stress of the state-controlled telcos by allocating next-generation of frequencies to commercially launch high-speed 4G services, the absence of which has hurt their revenue, and monetizing land assets, besides an employee retirement scheme.
The Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) would cost Rs 6,365 crore to BSNL, and Rs 2,120 crore to MTNL while the administrative cost for the allocation of 4G radio waves to BSNL is pegged at Rs 14,000 crore and Rs 6,000 crore for MTNL.
BSNL and MTNL have been financially stressed owing to high revenue-to-wage ratio, with over 1.63 lakh employees.
"If the outcome of today's meeting is positive, the Cabinet decision is expected by this month-end itself," a BSNL note, ahead of Tuesday's meeting read.
In response to the Cabinet memo, the Finance Ministry has earlier raised certain queries. It had argued that a financial impetus to the two telcos or any upfront payout to BSNL and MTNL could bring in a huge burden on the budgetary resources.
In July, a Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Home Minister Amit Shah had also discussed the revival of two state-owned telecom carriers
The decision was taken after a high-level meeting at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on Tuesday, despite the finance ministry reiterating its opposition on the revival package, citing additional financial burden on the state exchequer..
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) Secretary Anshu Prakash and BSNL Chairman PK Purwar were also present at the meeting.
The Narendra Modi-led government is looking at ways to reduce the financial stress of the state-controlled telcos by allocating next-generation of frequencies to commercially launch high-speed 4G services, the absence of which has hurt their revenue, and monetizing land assets, besides an employee retirement scheme.
The Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) would cost Rs 6,365 crore to BSNL, and Rs 2,120 crore to MTNL while the administrative cost for the allocation of 4G radio waves to BSNL is pegged at Rs 14,000 crore and Rs 6,000 crore for MTNL.
BSNL and MTNL have been financially stressed owing to high revenue-to-wage ratio, with over 1.63 lakh employees.
"If the outcome of today's meeting is positive, the Cabinet decision is expected by this month-end itself," a BSNL note, ahead of Tuesday's meeting read.
In response to the Cabinet memo, the Finance Ministry has earlier raised certain queries. It had argued that a financial impetus to the two telcos or any upfront payout to BSNL and MTNL could bring in a huge burden on the budgetary resources.
In July, a Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Home Minister Amit Shah had also discussed the revival of two state-owned telecom carriers
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