State-owned telecom company Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has reported a significant financial and operational improvement in the last two years, with its revenue climbing from Rs 21,000 crore to Rs 25,000 crore, as per the Ministry of Communications. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BSNL has transitioned from a struggling entity to a vital contributor to digital inclusion and national progress, stated Union Minister of State for Communications and Rural Development, Dr. Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani. The minister highlighted that BSNL adopted a disciplined approach akin to private sector practices to tackle longstanding issues like poor work culture, aging infrastructure, and weak tower performance.
The minister emphasized that the company’s financial health has significantly improved, with BSNL’s EBITDA surging from Rs 50 crore to almost Rs 7,000 crore within two years. This turnaround was attributed to targeted infrastructure enhancements and stringent monitoring mechanisms. In states like Andhra Pradesh, where tower uptime had fallen to around 75 percent, BSNL aimed to achieve 95 percent uptime by replacing nearly 50,000 batteries across 50,000 towers, upgrading power plants, and replacing aging cables to enhance network quality.
Furthermore, the rapid deployment of indigenous 4G technology was highlighted as a major achievement for BSNL. The minister mentioned that BSNL launched indigenous 4G on 100,000 towers in just one year, refining it to meet global standards. India now stands as the fifth country globally to develop such advanced indigenous 4G technology. To rebuild customer trust, BSNL has maintained tariffs significantly lower than private telecom operators and initiated the distribution of Re 1 SIM cards through India Post offices to encourage people to experience the service.
