BRPSRE Board, Communications Minister and DOT are continuously pressurising BSNL to improve the financial position of the BSNL and make it profitable. It is true that one of the reason for the present financial downgrade of the BSNL is the inefficiency of the management. But more than that, it is the wrong and anti-PSU policy of the government that is mainly responsible for the preent fiasco.
Look in to the following:
1. The govwernment at the time of corporatisation in order to ensure that the new PSU, BSNL function properly, it was assured that 1) Licence fee paid by the BSNL to government will be reimbursed ( about Rs. 3,000 crore) 2) the government will pay the Access Deficit Charge (ADC) collected from the private telcos to BSNL towards the losses incurred by BSNL for providing connections in villages and remote areas as per the commitment of the government and 3) allotment from Universal Service Obligation fund (USO Fund) for providing the universl telecom service. But all these assurances have been broken and at present only a very few amount only is being given to BSNL which is given to the private companies also.
2. The government ensured cleverly that all the funds available with the BSNL at the time of corporatisation (about Rs. 40,000 crore ) were taken away by it through imposing on the BSNL an imaginary loan of Rs.7,500 crore with unusually high interest while no loan was paid (and there was no need for a loan), confiscating about Rs.18,500 crore towards 3G and BWA Spectrum charges (even without giving it an opportunity to participate in the auction as allowed for private companies), compelling the PSU to pay high percentage of divident, taxes etc ( about Rs. 10,000 to 12,000 crore in a year).(Contd.)