&w=3840&q=100)
CAG loss estimate on BSNL-RJIL deal misread, correction done: MoS Telecom
The CAG report tabled in Parliament in April had said the government suffered a loss of ₹1,757.56 crore as state-owned telecom firm BSNL failed to bill Reliance Jio for 10 years since May 2014 as per their agreement on passive infrastructure sharing.
"BSNL has Master Service Agreements (MSAs) with M/s RJIL, for leasing of BSNL's tower infrastructure to install their equipment. There is no revenue loss to BSNL and government. The estimate of CAG was based on the misinterpretation of the clause of add-on technology, which has now been rectified in a transparent and equitable manner. BSNL has since raised the revised invoices from RJIL," Minister of State for Telecom, Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar said in the Lok Sabha in a written reply.
On measures taken by the government to fix accountability, recover losses and prevent recurrence of such lapses in the functioning of BSNL, Pemmasani said actions such as resolving the ambiguity in agreement clauses, monetisation of surplus inventory, issuance of revised demands and recovery have been taken.
"Further, PSUs have been advised to timely process bills and be extra cautious while taking policy/business decisions," he said.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
26 minutes ago
- Indian Express
‘Focus on big issues': Rajnath Singh starts Lok Sabha debate on Op Sindoor with list of questions Oppn should have asked
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told Lok Sabha Monday that India had fulfilled all its objectives in Operation Sindoor, agreed to a ceasefire when Pakistan requested it without any pressure, and added that the Opposition was not asking the right questions when it sought to know how many planes were shot down. He was speaking to initiate the 16-hour debate in Parliament on Operation Sindoor. He underlined that Operation Sindoor had been halted and not ended, and India would once again give a befitting reply if Pakistan sponsored any other terror attack, as a 'new Lakshman Rekha had been drawn'. He added that India would not accept any nuclear blackmail. 'In any exam, the result matters. We should see whether a student is getting good marks in an exam and not focus on whether his pencil was broken or pen was lost,' Rajnath said, in a dig at questions by the Opposition regarding losses to the Indian Air Force, amid applause from ruling party MPs. 'The Opposition asks about planes shot down. Their question does not represent India's sentiments. They have not yet asked how many Pak planes were shot down. They should ask: did India destroy terror bases? Yes. Was Operation Sindoor successful? Yes. Were the masters of terrorists who wiped off Sindoor from the foreheads of our sisters destroyed? Yes. Did our soldiers face any losses? No,' Rajnath said, listing out the questions he felt the Opposition should have asked. 'Focus on big things, not comparatively small ones; else we lose focus on big issues and the honour of soldiers.' He added, 'We asked in 1962 why another country captured part of our territory. We asked why we lost. We did not ask how many machine guns were damaged. We asked about territory, not equipment. In 1971, Atal Bihari Vajpayee praised the leadership of that time. We did not ask how many Indian planes fell or equipment got damaged in the process of teaching the enemy a lesson.' 'Aim not to capture land, but destroy terror nurseries' Rajnath explained the ceasefire after four days of hostility, saying, 'Operation Sindoor was halted because we had fulfilled our objectives. To say it was done under any pressure is wrong. The aim was not to capture territory but to destroy their terror nurseries. The aim was not to go to war… Pakistan accepted defeat and requested that hostilities be stopped… We accepted with a caveat. If Pakistan attempts any misadventure, we will again begin this operation.' The defence minister said India had always wanted peace with neighbours, as it is part of the civilisational values of the country. He recalled Vajpayee's attempts at peace, and then the Kargil War when Pakistan did not understand the language of peace. He added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi also started with attempts at peace and also visited Nawaz Sharif, but since Pakistan did not understand the language of peace, India undertook a surgical strike in 2016, an air strike in 2019, and Operation Sindoor in 2025. Rajnath expressed disappointment that the UPA government did not do any such thing after the Mumbai terror attack of 2008. Under the Modi government, he added, 'two-day dossiers have been replaced by decisive actions.' He likened the policy of the Modi government to the strategy of Lord Ram and Lord Krishna. 'We haven't occupied any territory. We also know that one should fight only equals. Lions should not kill frogs – the message it sends is not good. Our army is a lion. Pakistan is nowhere close to us in size or strength. What competition do we have with them? They are reliant on others for aid. Our strategy is against terrorism emanating from there,' Rajnath asserted. 'Our policy based on strategy of Ram, Krishna' 'We have learnt from Krishna that one can forgive Shishupala 100 times but the Sudarshan Chakra must be used to protect dharma. Ab humne sudarshan chakra utha liya hai (Now we have decided to wield the Sudarshan Chakra). Our policy is based on the strategy of Ram and Krishna, which teaches both dhairya (patience) and shourya (valour). Pakistan did not understand what we were saying; so, we will answer them in this way,' he said. 'Our stand is clear that terror and talks cannot co-exist. A country that has no democracy, sponsors terror and hates India cannot be engaged in dialogue. Blood and talks do not go together,' Rajnath added, reiterating what PM Modi had said after the ceasefire. 'Pak-sponsored terrorism is not random madness; there is a method in this madness. It is a toolkit against every civilised code of conduct. Our fight against Pakistan is the contest between civilisation and barbarity.' He recalled that PM Modi got the world to condemn the Pahalgam terror attack, adding that he (Rajnath) refused to sign a joint statement at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meet that sought to dilute India's position on terror. Rajnath rued that the UPA government could not make the Mumbai terror attack a global issue, and also decided not to launch an attack on Pakistan's terror havens after it. Underlining that multi-party delegations sent across the world after Operation Sindoor did great work, Rajnath said, 'During the operation, all political parties cooperated with the government, and we thank them.' He said Indian forces accomplished the attack on terror hubs in Pakistan in just 22 minutes, and saluted the defence forces for their valour and dedication.
Hans India
28 minutes ago
- Hans India
FM Sitharaman clarifies GST issue related to apartment associations
New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman clarified in Parliament on Monday that apartment associations are required to register under GST if their aggregate turnover exceeds Rs 20 lakh (Rs 10 lakh in special category states) in a financial year and the associations are required to pay GST only where the maintenance charged is more than Rs 7,500 per month per member. The Finance Minister further stated that apartment associations having maintenance charges up to Rs 7,500 per month per member or having aggregate turnover of goods and services below the threshold need not be registered under GST. The residents staying in the apartments do not have to pay GST. It is only the apartment associations that have to pay as they are the supplier of services, the Finance Minister said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. "No GST compliance requirements have been placed upon the residents of apartments, irrespective of the monthly maintenance amount paid," she added. Initially, services by an apartment association to its resident members against maintenance charges up to Rs. 5,000 per month were exempt. However, the exemption limit was enhanced to Rs. 7,500 per month per member in accordance with the recommendations of the GST Council in its 25th meeting held on January 18, 2018, the Finance Minister said. The services by an apartment association to its own resident members, where the maintenance charges are greater than Rs 7,500, are taxed at the rate of 18 per cent on the recommendations of the GST Council. The limit of Rs 7,500 was also prescribed on the recommendations of the GST Council in its 25th meeting, in which a decision was taken to increase the limit from the previous level of Rs 5,000 per person per member. Sitharaman also said that if any due tax has not been paid under the GST Act, the taxpayers are provided with an option to pay either no penalty or reduced penalty, provided they are ready to pay the due tax within a specified time period. She also said that events like Taxpayer Samvad, workshops, and awareness programs are regularly being organised for information dissemination and awareness through GST facilitation centres. These initiatives are designed to help taxpayers accurately assess their tax liability. Further, there is no requirement under CGST law to obtain any official letter from the resident or apartment associations regarding their apartment's GST status.
Hans India
28 minutes ago
- Hans India
Focus on customer experience, revenue generation: Minister Scindia at BSNL meet
New Delhi: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) officials met Union Minister of Communications, Jyotiraditya Scindia, on Monday and informed him about the public telecom company's expansion plans. The 4G expansion and rollout in multiple telecom circles, introduction of IFTV for FTTH and BiTV for mobile customers, platforms for next-generation infotainment and BSNL National Wi-Fi Roaming (a nationwide Wi-Fi roaming service for customers) were some of the upcoming initiatives discussed, an official statement said. Among other initiatives are tailored BSNL VPN services and bundled packages for enterprise and government clients, CNPN projects (private network initiatives) for high-reliability connectivity in mission-critical infrastructure and a spam-free network. The discussions focused on strengthening BSNL's role in the telecom sector, accelerating infrastructure rollout, and enhancing citizen-centric service delivery, the statement further said. Wide-ranging discussions were held on improving network performance, customer service delivery, and organisational modernisation. This comprehensive dialogue reinforced BSNL's positioning as a consumer-centric telecom service provider with a clear mandate of 'Revenue First' targets across all business units. According to BSNL's financial data, the company posted a net profit of Rs 280 crore in the January-March quarter (Q4) of FY25, making it the second consecutive profitable quarter after nearly two decades. This followed a Rs 262 crore profit in the October–December quarter—marking the first profit for the company in 18 years. The government had earlier announced multiple financial revival packages for BSNL, amounting to Rs 3 lakh crore, as part of its mission to revive the struggling public sector unit. Earlier this month, Scindia had said that India's first fully indigenous 4G network has now been implemented across the country. 'BSNL is now fully prepared to serve customers with a robust, indigenous 4G network. This is not just a revival, it's a reinvention of BSNL's role in India's digital future,' the Union Minister said.
