BSNL’s failure to bill Jio for a decade cost govt Rs 1,757 crore: CAG

The government incurred a loss of ₹1,757.56 crore due to state-owned telecom firm Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) failing to bill Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJIL) for a decade, despite their agreement on passive infrastructure sharing, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) said on Tuesday.

According to CAG, BSNL did not enforce the terms of the master service agreement (MSA) with Reliance Jio and failed to charge for additional technology deployed on its shared passive infrastructure. This lapse, spanning from May 2014 to March 2024, led to significant financial losses, including penal interest, for the government exchequer.