Govt’s telecom revenue in FY24 may fall short by Rs 10,000 crore

The department of telecommunications’ (DoT) receipts for FY24 will be around Rs 10,000 crore less than the revised budgeted target of Rs 93,541 crore, officials said.

This is because of some payment related adjustments pertaining to state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) that will be accounted for in FY25.

Technically, as part of the Rs 1.64 trillion revival package in 2022 and Rs 89,047 crore in 2023, the government will provide spectrum and adjust adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues of BSNL. According to experts, such adjustments by the government are accounted as non-cash receipts as per which the state-owned telecom operator will not pay it in cash but offer equity in lieu of the spectrum and AGR payments.