The central government has begun auctioning non-core assets of the state-run, loss-making telecom companies BSNL and MTNL.
The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) has called for bids for about six properties belonging to the BSNL and MTNL.
The two telecom companies were infused with a revival package worth Rs 70,000 crore recently, but they haven’t displayed signs of any credible turnaround as of now.
On the other hand, they own several massive land assets spread across the country worth almost thousands of crores.
The sale of these assets will be carried out in a phased manner, and there are also complications in the case of restrictions over the use of certain land for non-telecom purposes.
Also, the government had formerly discussed monetising the tower assets of the two telecom companies, reports The Times of India.
As widely known, the central government plans to monetise assets worth Rs six lakh crore over the coming four years, and telecom assets naturally form an integral component of the entire package.