New Delhi: A high-level review meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday conceded a suggestion for immediate sale of 10 per cent government equity in state-owned telecom giant BSNL.
The meeting reviewed challenges before the telecom PSUs BSNL and MTNL, including issues of expansion.
Telecom Minister A Raja, BSNL CMD Kuldeep Goyal, MTNL CMD R S P Sinha and Telecom Secretary P J Thomas were among those who attended the meeting.
IT Adviser to the PM Sam Pitroda is understood to have suggested immediate disinvemsnt of 10 per cent government equity in BSNL, a proposal that is expected to be conceded at the top-most level of the government soon.
The review assumes importance in the wake of deteriorating revenue of telecom PSUs, particularly BSNL, which is also confronting a controversy over 35,000 croe expansion plan.
There was no official word on what transpired during nearly an hour long meeting late this evening.
The issue of the Rs 35,000 tender for GSM equipment by BSNL also figured during the meeting amid reports that that the matter be referred to the CVC.
The telecom ministry officials are understood to have suggested that it would be premature to invoke CVC on the issue.
Concerned over BSNL's falling revenues, the PMO had asked the company top brass and Telecom Minister A Raja to look into causes and find ways to improve the performance. The PSU had reported the lowest net profit among the telcos of a paltry Rs 575 crore on a revenue of about Rs 36,000 crore last fiscal.
Besides, BSNL has been consistently losing market share in the mobile telephony business due to the stiff competition by private players and its inability to expand network on time.
BSNL has failed to undertake any capacity addition in the mobile network space in the last two years. Its latest 93 million GSM lines contract has run into a Central Vigilance Commission probe, stalling the expansion.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, January 06, 2010, 22:38