While talking about refunding BSNL, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said one public sector telecom company will stay and the central government will support it.
The Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology was speaking at India Today Budget Roundtable 2022 on "The Double-Engine Growth Model".
Ashwini Vaishnaw said, "BSNL plays an important strategic role in the Indian economy and in telecom, you will always like to have the presence of the government. In large swathes of areas in the northeast, border areas, forest areas in Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhaitishgarh, parts of Andhra Pradesh, there is barely any private sector. It is BSNL which is providing the service. BSNL was a profitable company. During the first few years of UPA, a large amount of reserves were taken from BSNL and were used for other purposes.”
The private sector is not reaching out to people who are unconnected and living in far-flung areas. According to him, it came into a difficult situation, and in 2019, the first set of relief measures was given to BSNL. BSNL has made an operating profit after many years and now is the time when the company starts stabilizing. One public sector telecom company will stay and the government will support it.
