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Business Standard
6 hours ago
- Business
- Business Standard
CAG loss estimate on BSNL-RJIL deal misread, correction done: MoS Telecom
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India estimates on losses to BSNL from Reliance Jio Infocomm was based on the misinterpretation of a clause on add-on technology, and it has been rectified in a transparent and equitable manner, Parliament was informed on Wednesday. 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.)
Time of India
6 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
CAG estimates on losses to BSNL from RJIL a misinterpretation, correction done: MoS Telecom
(You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel The Comptroller and Auditor General of India estimates on losses to BSNL from Reliance Jio Infocomm was based on the misinterpretation of a clause on add-on technology, and it has been rectified in a transparent and equitable manner, Parliament was informed on CAG report tabled in Parliament in April had said the government suffered a loss of Rs 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 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.
Time of India
7 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
No revenue loss to BSNL, government over lapses flagged by CAG: Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar
New Delhi: There was no revenue loss to BSNL and the government, and the recent estimates quoted in a CAG report were based on misinterpretation of some clauses, Minister for State for Communications Dr PemmasChandra Sekhar informed Lok Sabha on Wednesday in a written Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in its report No. 01 of 2025 for the year ending March, 2023 pointed out some lapses in contractual compliance, planning, and billing including the total cumulative financial loss of ₹1,944.92 crore by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). Asked by Congress MP Praniti Sushilkumar Shinde whether BSNL failed to enforce the Master Service Agreement with Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. (RJIL), resulting in a so-called loss of ₹1,757.76 crore, the Minister, without getting into specifics, responded that 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," the minister's written reply in Lok Sabha read. In another query, the minister was asked whether BSNL deviated from its own Procurement Manual in procuring oversized PIJF underground cables worth ₹80.64 crore, which remain unutilized. To which, the minister said the procurement of higher size PIJF underground cables was as per then extant norms. "However, due to changed competitive scenario in telecom sector, the procured cable could not be fully utilized. The surplus cable has been monetized by BSNL to the tune of ₹70.32 crore and the remaining cable has a sale value of approximately ₹23 Crore," the Lower House was apprised. To recover losses and prevent recurrence of such lapses in the functioning of BSNL and other PSUs, actions such as resolving the ambiguity in agreement clauses, monetisation of surplus inventory, issuance of revised demands and recovery have been taken, the minister supplemented. Further, PSUs have been advised to timely process bills and be extra cautious while taking policy/business decision.
Indian Express
17 hours ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Short recoveries, lost revenue cost Indian Railways Rs 543 crore: CAG
From non-recovery of Rs 148.61 crore in land licence fee from five government-aided schools by Northern Railway to nine zonal railways collectively failing to recover Rs 55.51 crore in District Mineral Foundation (DMF), the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has flagged financial irregularities and inefficiencies totalling Rs 543.17 crore by various zones and field units of the Indian Railways. In its compliance audit report on Railways for the year ending March 2023, which was tabled in Lok Sabha on Monday, the CAG found a consistent pattern of short recoveries, avoidable expenditures, mismanagement and loss of potential revenue in a total of 25 cases, which happened due to the violation of rules, regulations or directives by specific entities of railways. Among the most significant findings is Northern Railway's failure in recovering Rs 148.61 crore in land licence fee from five government-aided schools, despite clear directives to charge 6% of market value of the land. This was the largest single non-recovery cited in the report. The CAG has also found that a total of nine zonal railways — South Eastern, South Western, North Central, East Coast, Eastern, North Western, South East Central, West Central and Central Railway — collectively failed to recover Rs 55.51 crore in District Mineral Foundation (DMF) contributions from contractors from January 2015 to March 2024. The amount is DMF is used in the interest and benefit of persons and areas affected by mining-related operations. Another key finding in the CAG report is East Central Railway losing Rs 50.77 crore due to non-realisation of shunting charges at Bina siding (BCSK), for unbilled shunting activities using railway engines. The audit was conducted for a period from April 2020 to March 2023. The national auditor also said that the Southern Railway and Integral Coach Factory (ICF) manufactured a total of 28 Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) meter gauge coaches for Rs 27.91 crore without adequate technical assessment or consultation with the Research, Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO). 'ICF did not comply with the instructions of MoR (Ministry of Railways) in developing a prototype coach in consultation with RDSO, which led to creation of ineffective and deficient assets at a cost of Rs 27.91 crore as NMR coaches were not put to effective use even after three years of manufacturing,' said the auditor. Similarly, some other findings are that South Central Railway incurred an 'avoidable financial liability' of Rs 23.16 crore in late fees due to delayed renewal of licences for Very High Frequency (VHF) sets. Central Railway faced extra expenditure of Rs 15.62 crore on Road Under Bridges (RUBs) in Diva-Panvel-Jasai-JNPT section on Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) due to non-adherence to cost apportionment instructions, with the state government not contributing its share. South Central Railway irregularly reimbursed Rs 15.51 crore in seigniorage charges to contractors, by amending contract provisions without the Ministry's approval, the report said. Western Railway suffered a revenue loss of Rs 12.62 crore from June 2021 to September 2023 due to non/delayed upgrade of routes to higher axle-load capacity, restricting freight loading, it said. Similarly, Northeast Frontier and South Central Railways did not realise Rs 12.76 crore in maintenance and inspection charges from Container Corporation of India due to the non-execution of formal agreements. South Western Railways construction of a road over bridge without ensuring approach road work by the state government resulted in Rs 11.81 crore in blocked capital for more than five years (2018 to 2023) and non-elimination of level crossing. Dheeraj Mishra is a Principal correspondent with The Indian Express, Business Bureau. He covers India's two key ministries- Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Road Transport & Highways. He frequently uses the Right to Information (RTI) Act for his stories, which have resulted in many impactful reports. ... Read More
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
CM rejects allegations against digital varsity
T'puram: Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan rejected opposition leader V D Satheesan's allegations regarding financial irregularities and lack of transparency at Kerala Digital University. He stated that the charges were factually incorrect and misleading. In a detailed written reply to a letter sent by Satheesan, chief minister clarified that a statutory audit was being conducted at the university and that audit for 2023-24 financial year was already completed. He further said that the university officially requested comptroller and auditor general (CAG) to undertake further audits and that the next course of action lies with CAG. Dismissing the accusation that a company was secretly set up under the university, CM stated that the company was established in compliance with the stated policy and regulations of digital university. "The formation of the company is not in violation of any norms. It was done with administrative approval of ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) under govt of India," he wrote. Refuting the claim that advance funds were transferred to I-GEIC (International Graphene and Emerging Innovation Centre), Vijayan said the allegation was baseless. "Calling I-GEIC a fraudulent entity is without any factual basis," he said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo CM highlighted the credibility of those associated with the company, stating that its chairman is Madhavan Nambiar, a former Union civil aviation secretary. Other key figures include Pathan and Kamesh Gupta, both of whom held senior positions at Tata Steel, and Alex Thomas from digital university. He added that as per the university's own regulations, faculty members are encouraged to engage in entrepreneurial ventures. "It is clearly stated that research and development can be carried out through non-profit companies in which faculty members are involved," CM wrote. He said that, as a modern institution, the university can source funding for faculty salaries and other expenses through the projects they undertake. "Attempts are being made to portray such projects as scams by misrepresenting these facts," the letter said.
