In crackdown against costs, BSNL orders officers to fly economy class, save money

In a move to cut costs further amid financial difficulties, state-run telecom major BSNL has asked all its officers to fly economy class on both domestic and international travel. According to IANS report, due to the present financial stress in the company, all BSNL officers while performing their official tours will now travel by economy class whether its Domestic and International journey with immediate effect till further orders. 

However, further report says with the prior approval of the CMD, BSNL, the officers may travel by higher class in case of business requirements. Notably, BSNL has recorded a provisional loss of Rs 4,859 crore in 2015-16, of Rs 4,793 crore in 2016-17 and Rs 7,993 crore in 2017-18, which is estimated to rise to Rs 14,202 crore in 2018-19, as per official data.

Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had told Parliament that the low tariffs due to fierce competition in the mobile segment, high staff cost and absence of 4G services (except in few places) in the data-centric telecom market are the main reasons for losses of BSNL. 

The youngest telecom operator, Jio has taken the fight in terms of pricing and value-added services to the incumbent operators.  To get more subscribers and retain the old ones, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone-Idea, as well as Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited have also followed the footprints of RJio, in giving the company neck-and-neck competition and compete in the telecom sector. But the situation like low tariffs due to fierce competition in the mobile segment, high staff cost and absence of 4G services in the data-centric telecom market are the main reasons for losses of BSNL. 

Keeping in mind the tough financial situations of both BSNL and MTNL, the government is planning a revival scheme for these companies designed to make them more competitive and professional.