Government options to BSNL include closure

NEW DELHI: The government has asked struggling state-owned telco BSNL to look at all options, from a revival plan to disinvestment and even closure, as it looks to tackle the bleeding at India’s largest loss-making PSU.
The direction to the company – which had accumulated losses of Rs 31,287 crore at the end of 2017-18 – was given following a meeting of top BSNL officials with telecom secretary Aruna Sundararajan, sources told TOI.
BSNL chairman Anupam Shrivastava made a presentation to the telecom secretary, where he gave details about the company’s financial health, its accumulated losses, the impact on business following the entry of Reliance Jio, and possible voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) and early retirement plans for employees.