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In one of its first steps to revive the State-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will meet members of Parliament (MPs) on Friday to discuss various issues, including a revival plan.
After taking charge last year, Minister Prasad has talked several times about reviving both BSNL and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), which were the first to connect telecom lines across India.
“The Minister wants to discuss all the aspects – Parliamentary procedures and alternative plans – for revival of debt-ridden BSNL,” a government official close to the development told BusinessLine , requesting anonymity.
Without giving details of how many MPs Prasad will be meeting, the official said the meeting will take place within the Parliament premises, around ‘late evening’.
In 2013-14, BSNL had reported a total revenue of ₹27,996.35 crore whereas its total expenditure stood at ₹34,929.60 crore. In 2012-13, the total revenue was ₹27,127.89 crore against a total expenditure of ₹34,900.43.
Staff strikeAccording to latest TRAI data, the company had over 1.66 crore landlines at the end of February and even after losing 1,62,556 landline customers in February, it had the highest market share of 62.26 per cent.
Incidentally, BSNL employees were on a two-day strike (April 21 and 22) demanding immediate action by the government for its revival.
More than 95 per cent employees and officers participated in the strike, the BSNL unions said in a statement, adding in circles such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam, Punjab, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, the strike was ‘total’.
Along with officers and employees, the 50,000-plus casual and contract labourers engaged in BSNL also went on strike in support of demands, such as regularisation, resulting in complete stoppage of maintenance work, the union said. Meanwhile, in another attempt to save the company, BSNL on Thursday launched unlimited free calling scheme from May 1, from its fixed line phones to any operator, including mobile phones, anywhere in the country.
The scheme will be operational between 9 p.m and 7 a.m and will cover all types of connections, it said. Under the scheme, all major landline general plans of rural and urban areas, landline special plans as well as all major combo (landline with broadband) plans are covered, it added.
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