The BSE Smallcap index hit an over eight-month low of 47,627.96, falling 3 per cent in Tuesday's intraday trade amid selling pressure due to ongoing tariff-related concerns and rising geopolitical tensions.
Pankaj Kapur, who visibly enjoys playing the ringmaster to this family circus, is the glue that holds Thode Door Thode Paas together, observes Deepa Gahlot.
The telecom department is not contemplating providing any relief to Vodafone Idea with regard to adjusted gross revenue, Minister of State for Communications Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani said on Monday. "We have recently converted a lot of their debt into equity.
The government is considering the option of handing over operations of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) to BSNL through an agreement, instead of pursuing a merger route, a source privy to the development said. A final call on this is likely to be taken in a month's time. The source said the option of handing over debt-laden MTNL's operations to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) through an agreement is being looked into.
'My job is to provide people with a bouquet of options they can choose from.'
'Raising the entire amount in one go may not be prudent, given the market dynamics.'
With a major network rollout on the cards, the government is not keen to change the pattern of tower monetisation for Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), officials at the state-owned telecom-service provider said. The monetisation target in the telecom sector had to be revised owing to a change in BSNL's approach to mobile-phone tower monetisation, which had shifted from a sale-based model to a lease-based one.
The top court, however, clarified that if the petitioner wanted to take any recourse to appropriate statutory remedy, he was at liberty to do so.
New customer additions by Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel pushed the Indian telecom subscriber base past 120.5 crore in June, according to a Trai report released on Tuesday. The wireless subscriber base grew marginally to over 117 crore and wireline connections in the country increased to 3.51 crore in June from 116.89 crore and 3.47 crore, respectively, in May, as per data released in Trai's subscriber report for June.
The Centre is considering relaxing some norms that led to the failure in attracting bids for assets of Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL) as they look to restart the auction for their non-core assets. The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) had listed six properties of BSNL and MTNL for sale through its new e-bidding portal, developed by state-run MSTC, but the auction failed to garner an adequate interest. DIPAM had asked government-appointed property consultants to identify issues in the bidding criteria for resolution.
'It has remained around 38 per cent over the past four to five quarters.'
Monetising real estate assets is part of the overall relief package that would be used to retire debts, upgrade networks, and offer VRS aimed at reducing the telcos' employee strength by half.
The central government has mandated all ministries, public departments and public sector units to use the telecom services of State-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL).
The sharp pullback in mid and smallcap stocks signals a cooling-off period in segments that previously attracted considerable investor interest.
For FY16, MTNL's standalone net loss was over Rs 2,000 crore.
Of the total proposed allocation, over Rs 1 lakh crore is meant for BSNL and MTNL-related expenses, including Rs 82,916 crore infusion in BSNL for technology upgradation and restructuring at BSNL.
To revive BSNL and MTNL, DoT is taking various initiatives.
'The announcement has come too late. This should have been done years ago.'
The package includes raising of Rs 15,000 crore sovereign bonds to meet the immediate capital requirement of both the companies, 4G spectrum allocation worth Rs 20,140 crore, Rs 29,937 crore for VRS covering 50 per cent of their employees, and Rs 3,674 crore for goods and services tax that will be levied on allocation of radiowaves.
The government last month had approved a plum Rs 69,000 crore revival package for BSNL and MTNL that includes merging the two loss-making firms, monetising their assets and offering VRS to employees so that the combined entity turns profitable in two years.
At present MTNL and BSNL do not impose roaming charges for mobile internet services on each others customers.
The products and content would be available to MTNL's broadband customers through a co-branded portal called mtnl.aol.in, MTNL Executive Director J Gopal told reporters on Tuesday.
Reliance Infocomm on Tuesday informed the Delhi High Court that it was discussing with MTNL the matter related to demand of Rs 309 crore (Rs 3.09 billion) by the telecom public sector undertaking for alleged routing of international calls as local on
Group of ministers to discuss proposal to split companies into three entities, move seen as precursor to merger.
There have been more than 49,000 fire incidents in Mumbai in the last one decade, killing over 600 people, the Maharashtra government had told the assembly in November 2018.
Investors were impressed by MTNL's plans for inorganic growth, propelling the stock higher in early trades on Tuesday.
While MTNL on Friday claimed that its website has been restored, some users complained that they were unable to access it.
MTNL was the target of selling on Friday after its net profit came in way below even the lower side of analysts' expectations.
The decision is likely to bring additional amount of about Rs 1,500 crore or Rs 15 billion (including interest) in the books of MTNL as refund from government for the pension that the PSU paid to its employees.
The asset monetisation exercise in the first phase will help BSNL shave off its Rs 14,000-crore debt. The government has said that these firms are strategically important and will not be closed down or divested.
Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad made it clear that as of now, the government has no plans to merge BSNL and MTNL.
State-run Mahanagar Telephone Nigam on Tuesday joined the bandwagon of telecom companies offering lifetime validity on prepaid mobile cards
A Group of Ministers will consider a proposal to let BSNL and MTNL venture into cable TV and broadcasting services to help infuse life into the loss making companies.
Kuldip Singh, director, technical, of telecom PSU MTNL, has been appointed the new chairman and managing director with immediate effect.
Telecom PSUs MTNL and BSNL have crossed swords over collection of levy (Access Deficit Charge) by the former from other operators and passing it on to the latter.
Keen to expand its operations abroad, state-owned telecom operator MTNL on Tuesday said it is keen on entering Africa either by getting a new licence or buying out an existing operator.
The Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd, under its customer-friendly initiatives, has reduced installation charges for new telephone connections to Rs 500 from the present Rs 800, effective April 1.
The third, fourth and fifth floors of the nine-storey building were the worst affected due to the blaze, Mumbai fire brigade chief P S Rahangdale told PTI on Tuesday.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances