BSNL has launched “Project Tarang” to provide mobile connections to all officials of the Income Tax Department. Under the agreement between the BSNL & Income Tax Department, SIM cards will be given to all officials of IT Dept.  Officers will be issued with Data Cards. The officers in the rank of Commissioner and above have been provided with Blackberry Mobiles.

We congratulate the BSNL management and IT Dept.  for this agreement. The idea was mooted and initiative taken by  V.A.N.Namboodiri, then General Secretary, BSNLEU and K.K.N.Kutty, former  Secretary General of ITEF(Income Tax Employees Federation) and Secretary General of Confederation of Central Government Employees & Workers. Both Unions took up the matter with the concerned management/Department and agreement has been reached now. Many more such agreement are necessary with other departments and PSUs.

Prakash Karat, General Secretary, CPI(M) stated that the root cause of the scams in the country is the corrupt nexus of big business-politicians-bureaucrats. In an article in the latest issue of “Peoples Democracy”, mouth piece of the party, he stated :

“The recent revelations have confirmed the hard truth. The Prime Minister presides over a cabinet in which some are advocates of certain business interests and some are businessmen themselves. A few are lawyers who have represented the very corporates with whom they have to deal with in the portfolios they look after. It is illegal money generated by the corrupt big business-politician-bureraucrat nexus that is flowing in to the political system and perverting politics and democracy.There is a direct link between this corruption and illegal money which is being used on a large scale in elections. Fighting corruption , therefore, requires attacking this root of this evil, which is the corrupt nexus.”

The mobile subscribers in India is increasing in leaps and bounds. In November in GSM sector alone 17.45 million new subscribers!  Vodafone provided 3.12 million lines while Airtel gave 3.10 million. BSNL & MTNL together has provided 3.01 million.This information has been released by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) which is the organisation  of the GSM operators.

The TRAI is yet to release the statistics for November which will include the number of GSM, CDMA, landlines etc.

The statstic

Following the two days massive strike of BSNL employees, it seems that the government has decided to put of the proposal to disinvest 30% shares of BSNL. According to reports in Times of India dated today, 17th December, the Telecom Commission has observed, ” this is not the opportune time for listing and disinvesment of BSNL, as company is on downward performance path and disinvestment may not realise the true value of the company”.

But the interesting fact is that even in March 2010, when the company was already in loss, the Government had considered disinvestment. As such, the main reason for putting off listing and disinvesting is only the strong opposition of and strike by the workers.

Let us not be casual and complacent. There will of course be move again inside the disinvestment department, how to plan disinvestment of BSNL.  Let us continue our struggle against disinvestment along with the struggle to save BSNL.

Four awards of the Power Ministry, National Energy Conservation Awards, have been awarded to BSNL in a function held in New Delhi on 14th December 2010. Minister for Power Sushil Kumar Shinde gave the awards to Gopal Das, CMD, BSNL.

Congratulations! We should keep up and improve on energy saving.

It seems that the continuous pressure being made by the JAC may have some effect. The JAC has been demanding the government to honour its commitments on financial viability to BSNL given at the time of corporatisation, which are all discontinued now.

” Enterprises which are facing difficulties, such as Air India and BSNL, are receiving the due attention of the government”, the Prime Minister is reported to have stated at the MOU Excellence Award  function on 15-12-2010 in New Delhi.

All India Co-Ordination Committee of Public Sector Trade Unions in its meeting on 13-14th November at New Delhi has called upon the workers to observe 21st December 2010 as ” Contract Workers Demands Day” by  mobilising of contract workers and organising demonstrations.  The BSNL Casual & Contract Workers Federation also have given the call. Com. Tapas Ghosh, Secretary General, BSNLC&CWF has appealed to all casual/contract workers  to observe the “Contract Workers Demands Day” in co-ordination with the regular employees.

On the basis of the continuous representation by BSNLEU& AIBDPA, the DOT has issued directions to BSNL to settle the pension and connected cases urgently. Accordingly, BSNL has issued circular to all CGMs on 14th December 2010 stating that the matters related settlement of retirement cases should be taken on top priority and necessary instructions shall be issued to all concerned for timely submission of papers to CCAs, prompt compliance of the queries raised by CCAs,  submission of opening balances of loans, and advances and timely submission of GPF final payment etc.

For full text of the letter visit www.bsnleuchq.com

Government has denied the demand of BSNL for additional allotment of Rs.5354.55 crore for building alternate communications network for the armed forces. For releasing the spectrum with the armed forces, the government asked BSNL to build the alternate work with a budget of Rs. 9175.16 crore.

Since the cost has increased including that of materials, the BSNL wanted the budget provision to be increased. But the government has denied the same and asked the BSNL to build the network as per the earlier provision. If it had been a private company, the government would have certainly conceded the demand.

Dr. Manmohan Singh assured the private sector that the government will provide ” a level playing field for private business, free from fear or favour”. He was inaugurating the ‘India Corporate Week’ at New Delhi on 14th December.

Private sector is assured of level playing field and more. But what about Public Sector? There is no level playing field, there is no safeguard. For them the panacea for everything is Disinvestment and VRS. Tatas and Ambanis play all kinds of pressure tactics and influence so that their even unjustified demands are met, but even the fully justified demands of the public sector is denied. UPA Government is following the NDA government’s slogan ” business is not he business of the Government”.