The government has allocated ₹33,757.58 crore to BSNL in the 2025 budget, marking a 59% decline from the ₹82,916.20 crore allocated in the previous year. However, BSNL was only able to utilize ₹72,027.65 crore of last year’s allocation. Additionally, the budget did not include grants-in-aid for BSNL’s GST payments.
According to Mahesh Uppal, Director of Com First (India), the reduced investment suggests that the government has already injected substantial funds into BSNL over the past two to three years and now expects the company to demonstrate its viability and efficiency in the market. However, Uppal expressed skepticism about BSNL’s ability to meet this challenge, stating that the company has historically underperformed due to a lack of commercial autonomy. He emphasized that unless the government relaxes its control, BSNL’s leadership will struggle to compete with private players in terms of service quality and network capacity.
Meanwhile, Sumeysh Srivastava, Associate Director-Public Policy at The Quantum Hub, pointed out that the higher investment in the previous budget was likely linked to the launch of BSNL’s 4G services. He noted that BSNL has been focused on a nationwide rollout of 4G over the past few years, justifying the increased capital infusion during that period. In 2025-26, despite a significant reduction in funding, BSNL continues to receive substantial financial support, which may indicate a strategic shift towards self-sustainability and operational efficiency.
