Q: Can you ever offer a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS). Is that part of your plans at this stage? click " READMORE" below
A: Why not? Many companies are considering VRS and so BSNL is also not averse to the idea of VRS per se but there are no concrete plans as yet though we would definitely like to work out some plausible plan which is acceptable to our employee. Also at this moment of time one of the biggest challenge in bringing any VRS scheme would be finances.
Q: And perhaps no other operator in the world even those which are state-owned would have 60% wage bill component?
A: Definitely not, because if you are paying 60% towards wage bill then for running the operations what is left. Then coupled with that you are in a scenario where the technological innovations, developments are catching up very fast so therefore you must have money for capex. Unless and until you go on renewing your assets you go on losing your business.
Q: What is the plan? Is it 2 million lines, because there were talks several months before you took over of a flash tender. Even that flash tender has not happened.
A: Central vigilance commission in a very special case gave this relaxation, I will say, to BSNL to go for a snap tender for at least procuring 5.5 million lines. But unfortunately for BSNL and for every stakeholder that didn’t succeed even. So therefore now we are planning to go for an approximately 15 million GSM lines tender, the work is in very advance stage and I hope that very soon this tender may be floated.
Q: Why not opt for the managed services model?
A: This perhaps, this procurement is going to be last procurement on the conventional model. We will work sincerely to move from this upfront payment model which also has devised a method of vendor financing. We are going to floor this tender on vendor financing method where BSNL doesn’t have to pay upfront. But then next procurement on our next expansions network would be in all probability on this managed capacity, managed services model
Q: Final question, what is the future going to be? Give us a picture of how Bharat Sanchar will look towards the end of your tenure.
A: BSNL is an anchor company, it is operating in a strategic sector, it is wholly owned by the government. All these factors definitely give a very special status to BSNL. Therefore a good health of BSNL is not only in interest of BSNL itself, but it is in larger interest of country as well. There are multiple stakeholders apart from the government’s who are our owner, my own employees and officers- they are the stakeholders which are very clearly visible. But what is not visible that not less than 700-800 if not more companies in India whom we call vendors who are our partners in our success or failure, their stake, their survival depends upon survival of BSNL.
Therefore, at any cost, BSNL must survive. BSNL must be brought back to a profit making organization, thriving vibrant organization. And I am pretty sure that the steps which we have initiated and which we shall be initiating in coming years with the active support of government, my own ministry, we shall definitely be able to achieve that.
