The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has requested Rs 33,111 crore for payment of adjusted gross receipts (AGR) dues from Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). BSNL must claim the amount and payment is likely to be made in the first quarter of FY24. According to a PTI report, the Ministry of Telecommunication said in a statement to the Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology that against the proposal of Rs 39,725.07 crore for FY24, Rs 66,691.82 crore has been allocated to the budget. The additional amount is for the payment of AGR duties by BSNL, which is part of the state-run telco’s generation package.
BSNL will make the payment as soon as it has claimed the amount, which should most likely be done in the first quarter of FY24, DoT said. According to the budget estimates for FY24, the DoT has been allocated a total of Rs 1,08,153.25 crore by the Ministry of Finance, of which Rs 41,461.43 crore is under revenue section and Rs 66,691.82 crore for capital section accounts.
Read more – BSNL Revenue Targets Increased by Central Govt
For the current fiscal year, the government had allocated Rs 44,720 crore to be injected as capital into the state-run telcos including BSNL and MTNL. But the amount was later revised to Rs 33,269.01 crore, and of the allocated fund, more than Rs 23,873.44 crore has been spent till December 2022.
DoT also spoke about BSNL’s 4G rollout in India. The telecom department said that because BSNL is using a homegrown 4G stack in India for the first time, coupled with the problems in the chipset supply chain, the rollout of its 4G will start gradually and would take about 2 years.
The telecom division reiterated that BSNL will be profitable by FY27. For the upcoming fiscal year 24, the government has set a revenue target of Rs 21,908 crore as compared to Rs 17,161 crore this fiscal year.
