BSNL listing only after financial performance improves: Govt

Move to ensure right valuation for the PSU

PTI | September 23, 2010



The government has made it clear that it will not go public with state-run BSNL until the financial performance of the telecom PSU improves.

"The issue of listing would be taken after the performance of BSNL improves to get the right valuation and after obtaining the views of different stakeholders, like staff union and associations," DoT said in a reply to queries sent by Public Accounts Committee on performance of BSNL.

The disinvestment in BSNL will pave the way for the IPO and consequent listing on the stock exchanges.

BSNL has posted its first ever net loss of over Rs 1,822 crore in the last financial year from a net profit of over 574 crore in 2008-09 and over Rs 10,183 crore in 2004-05.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had constituted a committee headed by Sam Pitroda to look into the reasons for BSNL's poor performance and suggest ways to improve it.

The Pitroda panel had suggested among other things, 30 per cent disinvestment in the telecom PSU.

The proposal met with stiff opposition from the employees' unions and associations of BSNL, which were against any move to offload government's equity in the company.

Meanwhile, DoT has constituted an internal committee headed by Member (Services) to look into the recommendations of Sam Pitroda panel and give its report after taking inputs from BSNL management and employee associations.

BSNL, which has been facing competition from private players, saw its market share (GSM and WLL) declining to 11.44 per cent in June 2010 from 15.64 per cent in March 2008.

The case of granting Navratna status, under which cash-rich PSUs are given a certain autonomy with regard to investments and other financial transactions, to BSNL will also be considered only after its listing.

The apex committee under chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary in its meeting held in July 2008, had made the listing of Central PSUs a pre-condition for granting Navratna status.

Besides disinvestment, Pitroda commitee also suggested voluntary retirement to over one lakh staff as part of steps to improve BSNL's financial health.

Comments

 

Other News

Mofussils: Musings from the Margins

Provincials: Postcards from the Peripheries By Sumana Roy Aleph Book Company, 320 pages, Rs 899 Sumana Roy’s latest work, like its p

How to promote local participation in knowledge sharing

Knowledge is a powerful weapon to help people and improve their lives. Knowledge provides the tools to understand society, solve problems, and empower people to overcome challenges and experience personal growth. Limited sources were available to attain information on the events in and arou

‘The Civil Servant and Super Cop: Modesty, Security and the State in Punjab’

Punjabi Centuries: Tracing Histories of Punjab Edited by Anshu Malhotra Orient BlackSwan, 404 pages, Rs. 2,150

What really happened in ‘The Scam That Shook a Nation’?

The Scam That Shook a Nation By Prakash Patra and Rasheed Kidwai HarperCollins, 276 pages, Rs 399 The 1970s were a

Report of India’s G20 Task Force on Digital Public Infrastructure released

The final ‘Report of India’s G20 Task Force on Digital Public Infrastructure’ by ‘India’s G20 Task Force on Digital Public Infrastructure for Economic Transformation, Financial Inclusion and Development’ was released in New Delhi on Monday. The Task Force was led by the

How the Great War of Mahabharata was actually a world war

Mahabharata: A World War By Gaurang Damani Sanganak Prakashan, 317 pages, Rs 300 Gaurang Damani, a Mumbai-based el

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter