BSNL will use about Rs. 53,000 crore in upgrading its network to 4G and 5G in 2023 as well as revamping landline network across India, Union Minister for IT and Telecom Ashwini Vaishnaw said.
Government has announce a capital infusion of Rs. 52,937 crore in BSNL during the next fiscal year starting 1st April, 2023.
Speaking on Budget 2023-24, Ashwini Vaishnaw said BSNL’s capital infusion is part of the Rs. 1.64 lakh crore revival package announce in 2022 and most of the balance sheet items of BSNL have already address.
Ashwini Vaishnaw Said :
“BSNL has raised new debt using the sovereign guarantees which were announced in the package. Now, the physical installation of new towers, upgradation from 2G, 3G to 4G and 5G and a major revamp in the landline systems of the MTNL and BSNL network will be taken up in this year using the capital allocation of Rs. 53,000 crore which has been made for BSNL,”.
Government has allocate Rs. 1.23 lakh crore for postal and telecom projects.
Total allocation includes Rs. 97,579.05 crore for the Department of Telecom and Rs. 25,814 crore for Postal projects.
Government has allocate Rs. 2,158 crore for Optical Fibre Cable base network for Defence Services and Rs. 715.8 crore for telecom projects in the North Eastern states.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her speech announce setting up of 100 labs for developing applications using 5G services in engineering institutions.
In the receipt budget for 2023-24, the government has raise non-tax revenue collection estimates from the telecom sector by 30% to Rs. 89,469.17 crore.
Ashwini Vaishnaw Said :
“Revenue realisation in telecom is consistent. Telecom today is a sunrise industry and this is reflected in the higher revenue realisation which has been budgeted,”.
Government has revise the revenue estimate to Rs. 68,784 crore for the current fiscal from the earlier projection of Rs. 52,806 crore in the previous budget.
The actual revenue of the government in 2021-22 was Rs. 85,828 crore.
The non-tax revenue from the communication sector mainly relates to licencing fees from telecom operators and receipts on account of spectrum usage charges Rs. 25,814 crore allocate to the Department of Posts includes a Rs. 250 crore capital infusion in the India Post Payments Bank.
