The TEPC (Telecom Equipment and Services Export Promotion Council), an association of the Indian Telecom Equipment Manufactures, has complained to the government that, BSNL has violated the “Make in India” policy, in the procurement of 4G equipments. In the 4G tender floated by BSNL on 20.03.2020, the BSNL is laid down the following two conditions.

The bidding company should have the previous experience of providing 20 million 4G line network.
The bidding company should have Rs.8,000 crore turn over in the previous two financial years.

Both these conditions are very much required to ensure the quality of 4G equipments and also their prompt supply. Based on the complaint of the TEPC, the Commerce Department and the DoT have objected to BSNL’s tender. The whole intention of the TEPC is to see BSNL does not start it’s 4G service. If BSNL does not launch it’s 4G service expeditiously, naturally it is the private companies like Jio, Airtel and Vodafone Idea which are going to get benefitted. So, we can understand whose hands are there behind the complaint of TEPC. Similar conspiracies have been hatched earlier also, to kill BSNL. Now, it has become the duty of the unions and associations of BSNL to ensure that BSNL gets 4G equipments from this tender. As a first step, the AUAB has written to the Prime Minister, seeking his intervention. If necessary, the AUAB has to take more serious steps to ensure that, BSNL gets 4G equipments. (courtesy: bsnleu website.)