State-Run Telecom And Broadband Firms' Merger This Month On Cards

The government plans to merge Bharat Broadband Nigam Limited (BBNL) with the telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) this month.

The government is planning to merge Bharat Broadband Nigam Limited (BBNL) with the loss-making state-run telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) this month, a senior official said.

BSNL chairman and managing director PK Purwar at a recent event organised by the All India Graduate Engineers and Telecom officers Association (AIGETOA), said that the government is giving the telecom firm an opportunity for a turnaround.

"The government has decided that BBNL is going to be merged into BSNL. This means all work of BBNL at the pan-India level will come to BSNL," Purwar said at the All India Conference of AIGETOA on March 13.

In his meeting with the union telecom minister, Purwar said he had an hour-long meeting to this effect.