Cabinet okays Rs 1.64-trn BSNL revival plan

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a Rs1.64 lakh crore package for the revival of state-owned telecom firm BSNL, Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said. The revival measures approved by the Cabinet focus on fresh capital for upgrading services, allocating spectrum, de-stressing its balance sheet and augmenting its fiber network by merging Bharat Broadband Nigam Ltd (BBNL) with BSNL.

Briefing reporters on the decision taken by the Union Cabinet, he said the package has a cash component of Rs43,964 crore and a non-cash component of Rs1.2 lakh crore spread over four years. The government will make administrative allocation of spectrum BSNL needs to offer 4G services. The allocation of spectrum in 900/1800 MHz band at the cost of Rs44,993 crore would be through equity infusion.

He said to meet the projected capital expenditure for next four years, the government will fund capex of Rs22,471 crore for developing 4G technology stack.