Revitalizing Telecom: BSNL Performance Under Scrutiny

Chandra Sekhar Pemmsani, Minister of State for Telecom, urged BSNL circles in UP and Bihar to enhance service quality and address power issues. The government has invested heavily in BSNL, leading to profits after years. Despite improvements, customer numbers decline due to service quality concerns.

The Minister of State for Telecom, Chandra Sekhar Pemmsani, has called upon four BSNL service circles, including those in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, to enhance their service quality, address persistent tower power issues, and adopt innovative strategies to bolster the company's presence.

In a review meeting, he emphasized achieving a boost in enterprise business by 25-30% and a minimum increase of 15-20% in fixed line services. This follows a similar directive from Union telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who pushed BSNL to expand its customer base and grow its mobile services by 50% over the next year.

The government has injected over Rs 3 lakh crore into BSNL over six years, aiming to revive the company. Recently, BSNL reported consecutive quarterly profits after 18 years, posting Rs 280 crore in March FY25, but continues to struggle with declining customer numbers due to ongoing service quality challenges.

(With inputs from agencies.)