Stocks of government probables for divestment or stake sale such as Steel Authority of India (SAIL), Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL), National Aluminium Company (Nalco) and Container Corporation (Concor) have outperformed the markets in the past one year.
Babus may now use private telecom, airline services
Two years after having allotted third-generation (3G) spectrum without any contest to its own telecom companies, on the promise that they'd match the prices later paid by private sector winners of the auction for it, the communications ministry now wants them to get it for free.
Private telecom operators have overtaken their public sector counterparts -- Bharat Sanchar Nigam and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam
Operators Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone-Essar, Aircel, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd and Idea Cellular might have to fork out over Rs 11,200 crore for having spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz, if the government accepts the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) recommendations.
The Department of Telecommunications is considering a proposal to allocate spectrum, the radio frequencies that enable wireless communications, for third-generation or 3G services to state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd ahead of other operators. The move is expected to frustrate private players since this will give BSNL and MTNL a head-start in rolling out high-value 3G services that offer video calls, music downloads and games.
According to a senior company official, BSNL is in the process of appointing recovery agents on a commission basis to bring back the money.
Subscriber needs to pay Rs 19 for the service.
Telecom subscribers in the country can now make intra-state call at the rate of a local call, with the state-owned telecom company Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) extending its group-dialing facility to private operators. Group dialing facility enables local dialing within a state by pre-fixing `95' to the receiver's number.
State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd on Tuesday announced a partial roll-back in telephone tariffs by increasing the number of free calls per month.
In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for IT and Communications Shakeel Ahmad said a consortium of consultants led by ICICI Securities has suggested some options for restructuring of MTNL and BSNL.
The race for control of Kuwait-headquartered Zain Telecom has quickened with the Indian consortium led by Delhi-based Vavasi group saying it is willing to give a majority stake in the consortium to state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd or Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd, depending on which company gets government approval to go ahead with the deal.
Telecom services across the country are expected to be hit following Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited employees' indefinite strike from Wednesday, demanding immediate placement of equipment orders for expansion of its mobile network.
In one of the largest deals in West Asia, a consortium of Indian telecom firms led by Delhi-based Vavasi Group, which also hopes to rope in state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) and a Malaysian investor, will acquire a 46 per cent stake in Kuwaiti telecom company Zain for around $13.7 billion.MTNL and BSNL said they would like to clarify that no view has been taken regarding their participation in the consortium.
Even in the protected world of India's sick public sector units, it takes a special kind of government company to lose Rs 8 crore (Rs 80 million) a day, while earning just Rs 10 crore (Rs 100 million) as revenue - and that in the booming field of telecommunications.
Four new players will be given spectrum along with one existing operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam or Mahanagar Telephone Nigam - in their respective circles.
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited has got two Mhz of additional spectrum from Department of Telecom to support its growing mobile subscriber base in the country.
Dayanadhi Maran, the new IT and telecommunications minister, also announced a 10-point agenda, including revamping the telecom policy, to reduce the cost to customers.
The telecom ministry will decide on the merger between the state-owned telecom companies, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd, only after the listing of the former.
At present, in BSNL and MTNL, there is no such proposal for reduction of landline call charges and mobile roaming charges, officials of both the companies said.
Railway Minister Nitish Kumar has said that negotiations are on with the telecom ministry for equity participation of MTNL and BSNL in RailTel Corp to improve telecom services in the Railways.
A poser by CPI-M member Sitaram Yechury on whether Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited are deliberately not setting up towers to favour private companies left Communications Minister Dayanidhi Maran seething with anger.
''No lobbyists will be able to influence us. If that happens, you can censure me for dereliction,'' he said.
The Indian government does not plan to privatise state-run telecom firms Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd before 2004.
The monopoly of state-owned service providers Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd in the public call office business is fast eroding.
However, operators said the chief beneficiary would be the state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd, which have already been given the spectrum for 3G services, as well as Reliance Communications, which is still to roll out its 2G GSM network.
Indian consumers will have their tryst with 3G telecom services in the next six months, with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) announcing that it is issuing state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) spectrum to roll out all-India services.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances