The government is not privatising state-run telecom firms Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), Minister of State for Rural Development and Communications Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar said on Wednesday.

Replying to a question in Parliament, Sekhar said that last month, the government had approved an additional capital expenditure plan of Rs 6,982 crore (Rs 69.82 billion) for BSNL.

HFCL share price gained 4.29 per cent at Rs 106.80 a piece on the BSE in Friday’s intraday trade. This came after the company bagged an advance work order worth Rs 2,501 crore.

“We are pleased to inform to all our stakeholders that the Company has successfully secured an Advance Work Order (“AWO”) aggregating to ~INR 2,501.30 Crores for the design, supply, construction, installation, upgradation, operation, and maintenance of the middle-mile network of BharatNet Phase III in the Punjab Telecom Circle, from Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (“BSNL”),” the company said in an exchange filing on Thursday.

The CBI on Friday conducted searches at 25 locations in connection with an FIR registered against 21 officials of the BSNL, including a former general manager, officials said.

The premier investigative agency alleged that the accused officials entered into a conspiracy with a contractor to cheat the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).

Cabinet on Wednesday approved a revival plan for the state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) worth Rs 89,047 crore. It includes an allotment of 4G/5G spectrum for BSNL through equity infusion.

With this, the authorized capital of BSNL will be increased from Rs 1.5 trillion to Rs 2.1 trillion.

State-owned BSNL has issued a directive to all its units to curtail expenditure on contract works which is likely to result in retrenchment of around 20,000 workers engaged with the telecom firm through contractors, according to BSNL Employees’ Union.

The union also claimed that 30,000 contractual workers have already been retrenched under the company's retrenchment process and added that all such workers remained unpaid for more than a year.

More than 92,000 employees of BSNL and MTNL have opted for voluntary retirement, Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Wednesday as he asserted that the government will make the two telecom companies profitable as they are strategic assets. The Communications Minister told the Lok Sabha that the merger of BSNL and MTNL will have pan-India foot print, synergy in operations, reduction of fixed costs and overheads, among others.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) has rolled out voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for its employees. The company hopes that about 100,000 employees will avail of the package.

The scheme opened on November 4 and will continue till December 3. The total number of BSNL employee is 175,000.

Just days before Diwali, the government has taken a decision to lift the air of uncertainty over the two public sector telecom behemoths — Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL). While approving a package of nearly Rs 70,000 crore for the two financially stressed entities, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday also drew up a timeline to merge them.

Department of Telecommunications has again sought relief for the beleaguered Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd with fewer demands, essentially translating into lesser cash outgo by the Centre.

It is learnt that DoT has sought funds for the voluntary retirement schemes of the two sick units and allotment of 4G spectrum, besides proposing to raise finances by monetising assets.

The government’s plan to revive BSNL should be in public domain within a month, the chairman of the troubled telecom firm said on Monday. BSNL Chairman and Managing Director P K Purwar also said that the salary of all employees will be paid before Diwali.

“BSNL has inner strength on the basis of which it is adding new customers. We are a Rs 20,000 crore plus revenue generating organization.

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