BSNL loss widens 2.5x to ₹39,000 cr in Apr-Dec

State-owned telecom firm BSNL’s loss swelled by over 2.5 times to ₹39,089 crore during the April-December 2019 period, Minister of State for Telecommunications Sanjay Dhotre has informed Parliament.

The public sector telecom firm had recorded a loss of ₹14,904 crore in the previous financial year 2018-19.

“BSNL has informed that its total accumulated loss during the current financial year, that is, 2019-20 (up to December 31, 2019) is ₹39,089 crore,” Dhotre said in a written reply to a query in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.

Revival package

The government on October 23 last year approved a ₹68,751-crore revival package for loss-making BSNL and MTNL, including 4G spectrum allocation and voluntary retirement scheme (VRS).