Cash-strapped BSNL pays August salaries to employees: CMD

Ending days of agonising wait for employees, crisis-ridden Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has made salary payment to its staff for August, according to a top official. BSNL Chairman and Managing Director PK Purwar confirmed to that the corporation transferred the funds and made August salary payment to its employees, last week. "Employees have got their salary now. The salary requirements were met internally," Purwar said.

State-owned distressed telecom firms Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNLNSE 5.45 %) and BSNL have been incurring losses and have been facing problems in clearing staff salaries in the recent past. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for some time now has been working on a rescue plan for the two companies in the form of a revival package that entails components such as voluntary retirement scheme, asset monetisation and allocation of 4G spectrum.

BSNL's loss is estimated to be around Rs 14,000 crore with a decline in revenue to Rs 19,308 crore during 2018-19. The public sector firm's provisional loss was Rs 4,859 crore in 2015-16, Rs 4,793 crore in 2016-17, Rs 7,993 crore in 2017-18 and is estimated to swell to Rs 14,202 crore in 2018-19, according to information presented in Parliament.  The number of employees in BSNL stands at 1,65,179.

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