NEW DELHI: The plan to revive ailing state-run telcos Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited<\/a> (BSNL<\/a>) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited<\/a> (MTNL<\/a>) by merging them together may not realise as a six-member group of ministers (GoM) last week recommended that the merger would neither be beneficial nor feasible, reported Business Standard on Monday.
The Union Cabinet<\/a>, however, will take a final call on the issue soon, it added.
The plan to merge the beleaguered telcos goes back to October 2019 when the Cabinet had announced a four-step revival process worth Rs 68,751 crore that included the allocation of 4G airwaves, voluntary retirement scheme (VRS<\/a>), assets monetisation, and a merger plan between the two telcos which was expected to finalise in 24 months.
But with the latest developments, it seems highly unlikely now.
It is pertinent to note that BSNL recently started operating its counterpart MTNL’s network in Delhi and Mumbai circles. This came after BSNL’s proposal to the telecom department on October 27 last year, expressing interest to manage networks in the metropolitan circles on an outsourcing basis.
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