The government will inject Rs 44,720 crore into the loss-making state telecom company BSNL in the next financial year, according to Budget documents.
“Provision is made for capital infusion for 4G spectrum, technology upgrade and restructuring at BSNL,” the explanatory note in the document said.
In addition to the capital injection, the government will provide additional financial support of Rs. 7,443.57 crore to the telecom company for a voluntary retirement scheme and Rs. 3,550 crore as a subsidy for payment of GST.
Financial support for the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) includes the implementation of the scheme at both BSNL and MTNL. Goods and Services Tax (GST) support will be provided to BSNL for the payment of GST on the allocation of 4G spectrum, according to the documents.
Additional financial support for public sector companies is in addition to Rs. 69,000 crore aid package that the government provided to them in October 2019.