With the demand for its cellular services and SIM cards growing, the state-run Bharat Shanchar Nigam Ltd on Thursday said the proposed expansion of network of 15 million lines at an investment of Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) would be completed over the next few months.

"The roll-out plans are already being implemented in some areas. We have floated a tender for the expansion of our network and hope to complete the process soon," A K Sinha, BSNL chief managing director said.

Asked about the shortage of SIM cards in some locations, Sinha said, "Despite the huge demand, we are able to meet it. We are adding 600,000 new subscribers every month. We will soon cater to the areas which have reported a shortage of SIM cards."

He, however, pointed out that BSNL was spending upto Rs 1500 crore (Rs 15 billion) annually on consumption of diesel to run the exchanges in rural areas and asked the government to provide electricity faster to meet the rural telephony demand.

Of the proposed expansion of 1.5 crore (15 million) new lines, Sinha said about 300,000 lines would be added in Jammu and Kashmir to meet the demand there.

"In Jammu & Kashmir, we want every school-going child to carry a mobile phone and we hope to reach that stage soon," he said.