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MTNL: A tale of descent from monopoly to margins
The New Indian Express Thrissur
|May 25, 2025
August 2024 and February 2025, with major exposures to Union Bank of India (₹3,633.42 cr), Indian Overseas Bank (₹2,374.49 cr), and Bank of India (₹1,077.34 cr), among others. Following these defaults, MTNL approached the finance ministry for a waiver on dues. However, the ministry rejected a DoT proposal for a partial debt waiver. The DoT has since re-approached the ministry, seeking funds. For Q4 FY25, MTNL reported a net loss of ₹784 crore.
Key issues and govt support One of the primary issues has been its technological lag. While private telcos rolled out 4G and prepared for 5G, MTNL remained stuck in the 3G era. Even today, its 4G rollout is limited despite government backing and BSNL's support. Additionally, an aging workforce and massive salary and pension bills led to a disproportionate employee-customer ratio.
This story is from the May 25, 2025 edition of The New Indian Express Thrissur.
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