BSNL Didn’t Suffer Rs 1,944 Crore Loss, CAG Misread Contract Clause: Govt

The Minister’s response came in a written reply to a question raised by Congress MP Praniti Sushilkumar Shinde in Parliament regarding lapses cited by the CAG in BSNL’s operations.

The CAG’s Report No. 01 of 2025, for the financial year ending March 2023, highlighted issues in contractual compliance, billing, and planning, suggesting a cumulative loss of Rs 1,944.92 crore for BSNL.

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Minister of State for Communications Dr Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar on Wednesday clarified in the Lok Sabha that there had been no financial loss to either Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) or the central government, as alleged in a recent Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report.

The Minister’s response came in a written reply to a question raised by Congress MP Praniti Sushilkumar Shinde regarding lapses cited by the CAG in BSNL’s operations, reported ANI.

The CAG’s Report No. 01 of 2025, for the financial year ending March 2023, highlighted issues in contractual compliance, billing, and planning, suggesting a cumulative loss of Rs 1,944.92 crore for BSNL. This included an alleged Rs 1,757.76 crore loss due to BSNL’s purported failure to properly enforce the Master Service Agreement (MSA) with Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. (RJIL).

Addressing this, the Minister explained that BSNL had valid MSAs with RJIL for leasing its tower infrastructure and that the CAG’s estimated loss was the result of “misinterpretation of the clause of add-on technology.” He added, “There is no revenue loss to BSNL and Government... which has now been rectified in a transparent and equitable manner. BSNL has since raised the revised invoices from RJIL.”

Procurement Issues and Asset Monetisation Addressed

Responding to another question concerning the procurement of PIJF underground cables worth Rs 80.64 crore—which allegedly remained unutilised—the Minister stated that the purchase had been made in accordance with the norms prevailing at the time. However, due to shifts in the competitive telecom environment, the procured cables were not fully used.

Dr Sekhar noted that BSNL had already monetised surplus inventory amounting to Rs 70.32 crore, with the remaining stock valued at around Rs 23 crore. He said steps were being taken to avoid such lapses in future, including recovery efforts, updated demands, and the correction of ambiguities in agreements.

“Public Sector Undertakings have been advised to process bills promptly and exercise greater diligence in policy and business decisions,” the Minister informed the House.