No merger: Government looks to shift MTNL’s operations to BSNL

NEW DELHI: Having failed to come up with a viable proposition, government is now looking to hand over the operations of ailing telecom PSU MTNL to its bigger sibling BSNL, instead of merging the two state-run firms that have repeatedly been handed out bailouts, including around two years ago.The fresh proposal will be taken up by the Committee of Secretaries (CoS) after which it will be put up for Cabinet approval, highly-placed sources told TOI.The proposal to hand over the operations of publicly-listed MTNL — that offers services in Delhi and Mumbai — to BSNL will help the latter offer pan-India operations as it works on a revival plan.“By not merging the two companies, there is no need to de-list MTNL from the bourses.