Budget 2024: BSNL gets ₹82,916 crore out of total ₹1.28 lakh crore allocation for telecom

Budget 2024: In the Union Budget for the financial year 2024-25, ₹1.28 lakh crore was allocated for telecom projects and public sector firms under the telecom ministry.

Of the total allocation, the majority of funds have been earmarked for BSNL and MTNL-related expenses.

BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) would get ₹82,916 crore for technology upgradation and restructuring.

“The total net allocation for this demand in BE (Budget Estimate) 2024-25 is ₹1,28,915.43 crore ( ₹1,11,915.43 crore plus ₹17,000 crore). The additional provision of ₹17,000 crore is met from the balances available under Universal Service Obligation Fund and will be utilised for schemes viz., Compensation to Telecom Service Providers, Bharatnet and Research and Development,” the budget document read.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday presented the Union Budget for 2024-25 in Parliament.

The telecom budget includes an allocation of ₹17,510 crore for pensionary benefits of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) employees, including employees absorbed in BSNL and employees of MTNL (Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd), effective April 1, 2014.

Up to ₹3,668.97 crore has been allocated for payment of principal amount of MTNL bonds.

Telecom manufacturing

To boost domestic telecom gear manufacturing, the government has proposed to increase import duty on motherboards by 5 per cent.

“To incentivise domestic manufacturing, I propose to increase the BCD (Basic Customs Duty) from 10 per cent to 15 per cent on PCBA (printed circuit board assembly) of specified telecom equipment,” Sitharaman said in her Union Budget speech.

In the Budget, a provision of ₹34.46 crore has been made for technology development and investment promotion, ₹70 crore for Champion Service Sector Scheme and ₹1,806.34 crore for production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme.

The finance minister has also proposed to fully exempt 25 minerals, such as lithium, copper, cobalt and rare earth elements, which are critical for sectors such as nuclear energy, renewable energy, space, defence, telecommunications and high-tech electronics from customs duties and reduce basic customs duty on two of them.

“This will provide a major fillip to the processing and refining of such minerals and help secure their availability for these strategic and important sectors,” Sitharaman said.