BSNL Emerges as Key Driver of Digital Inclusion Under Modi Govt: MoS Pemmasani
New Delhi, May 25 (TNT): Union Minister of State for Communications and Rural Development Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani on Monday said that Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), once considered a struggling public sector enterprise, is undergoing a major transformation and emerging as a key driver of digital inclusion and national development under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In an interview to DD India, the Minister said BSNL’s revival was achieved through systematic reforms, improved operational discipline and focused infrastructure modernisation.
He said BSNL’s revenue had increased from ₹21,000 crore to ₹25,000 crore over the past two years, registering growth of around 20–25 per cent.
The Minister further stated that the company’s EBITDA had risen sharply from nearly ₹50 crore to around ₹7,000 crore, reflecting significant operational improvements and a clear path towards profitability.
Pemmasani said the revival process involved addressing issues such as outdated infrastructure, poor tower uptime and operational inefficiencies.
“In states like Andhra Pradesh, tower uptime was only 75 per cent. We set a target of 95 per cent, replaced 50,000 batteries across towers, upgraded power plants and replaced ageing cables,” he said.
The Minister highlighted the rapid rollout of indigenous 4G technology as a major achievement, stating that BSNL had launched indigenous 4G services on one lakh towers within a year.
He said India had now become the fifth country in the world to develop deep indigenous 4G technology.
On rebuilding customer trust, Pemmasani said BSNL tariffs remained cheaper than those of private telecom operators and the company was distributing one-rupee SIM cards through India Post offices to encourage users to try its services.
He added that India Post staff were also spreading awareness about BSNL services in rural areas.
The Minister said BSNL had played a critical role in expanding connectivity to remote and tribal regions, where around 35,000 villages previously lacked proper telecom access due to difficult terrain, security challenges and techno-commercial issues.
According to him, around 25,000 towers had already been installed in such villages, while work on another 10,000 towers was in progress.
Pemmasani said improved connectivity in remote regions was also contributing to national security and helping reduce left-wing extremism by enabling villagers to quickly contact police and government authorities.
He also highlighted progress under the BharatNet project, under which nearly ₹1.4 lakh crore is being invested to provide high-speed fibre connectivity to every Gram Panchayat.
The Minister said the target was to connect 1.5 crore rural households in the first phase of the project.
Describing communication infrastructure as central to the vision of “Viksit Bharat 2047,” Pemmasani said the transformation was not only about improving infrastructure but also about changing the work culture and mindset within public institutions.
Summing up his vision for BSNL over the next five years, the Minister said the company should emerge as “trustworthy, proud and profitable.”
TNT TS
