Shares of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd today climbed nearly 7 per cent after a Group of Ministers (GoM) on revival of BSNL and MTNL decided to refund the money paid by the State-run players for surrendering BWA spectrum worth more than Rs 11,000 crore.
After making a positive opening, shares of MTNL further surged 6.97 per cent to Rs 16.42 on the BSE. MTNL shares had yesterday surged 19.92 per cent.
The GoM, headed by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, also took a decision yesterday on providing pension to MTNL employees, which is likely to cost about Rs 570 crore a year.
“The Group of Ministers took firm decisions, one in relation to pension of MTNL employees, the second in relation to the spectrum that was allocated both to BSNL and MTNL in the 2.5 GHz band and one other small issue,” Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal said yesterday.
Both MTNL and BSNL had requested the Government to refund the amount they paid in 2010 for Broadband Wireless Access spectrum, used to provide 4G data services.
MTNL’s net loss widened to Rs 5,321.12 crore in the FY 2012-13 compared to Rs 4,109.78 crore in the preceding fiscal.