BSNL's Losses Narrow To Rs 5,371 Cr In FY24

State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) has significantly reduced its losses for the fiscal year 2023-24 (FY24), reporting a narrowed loss of Rs 5,371 crore. The company's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) saw a substantial year-on-year increase, standing at Rs 2,164 crore for FY24. This marks a 38.8 per cent rise from the previous year's figures.

Minister of State for Communications Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha, highlighted the positive impact of government packages and measures, noting that BSNL/MTNL have been earning operating profits since FY 2020-21.

In line with the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, BSNL has placed a purchase order for 1 lakh 4G sites to deploy indigenous 4G technology, with the equipment being upgradable to 5G. This move is part of the company's efforts to enhance its network capabilities and support the government's vision of self-reliance in the telecommunications sector.

Detailing BSNL's performance over the past five years, Minister Sekhar shared that EBITDA for FY24 reached Rs 2,164 crore, a notable improvement from Rs 8,161 crore in FY23.

Addressing concerns about data security, the Minister also revealed that the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) reported a potential data breach at BSNL on 20 May, 2024.

An analysis revealed that one File Transfer Protocol (FTP) server contained data similar to the sample shared by CERT-In. However, no breach into the Home Location Register (HLR) of the telecom network was reported, and there was no service outage in BSNL's network.

This significant reduction in losses and strategic initiatives indicate a positive trajectory for BSNL, as it continues to strengthen its operations and expand its technological capabilities.