Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) are giving priority to the ministries or agencies for the sale of plots. For the uninformed, the government has asked BSNL and MTNL to sell land and properties that are not being used. The target is to generate Rs 20,000 crore as part of the revival package. The period for this is 4 to 5 years. According to an ET report, BSNL and MNTL will first offer the land to government agencies and departments and then to other private entities.
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This solves two problems for state-owned telecommunications companies. Firstly, no auction route is required, saving the company a lot of energy and time. Then there will be no delays in determining the terms of sale between two departments or agencies, if both are government-run. Much recently, BSNL sold one of his properties in Lucknow to the income tax department for around Rs 229 crore. Please note that Rs 229 crore is the market value of the property. So there are no discounts and the rates are fixed, only the auction route can be bypassed.
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BSNL and MTNL will use the money raised for their revival. The government wants BSNL to become profitable and the state-owned telecommunications company BCG (Boston Consulting Group) is calling in to help. BCG will work with BSNL for 34 months and ensure that the telco's cost of running the business is reduced and revenues from the operations grow significantly. Furthermore, BCG will devise a new sales and marketing strategy/design for BSNL to better compete with the private telecom companies in the country.
BSNL and MTNL are already making operating profits, and in the coming years, the government expects the company to post net profits.
