Any suggestion regarding development of SNATTA westbengal …. pl. mail to our cs in e-mail ID snattawb.cs@gmail.com or to our CP at mail snattawb.cp@gmail.com

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

31.12.2013: SNATTA WBTC Wishes all Members a very happy and prosperous New Year 2014....


31.12.2013: IDA increase is 5% from 01-01-2014.

It is learnt that the IDA increase, that has become due w.e.f. 01.01.2014 is 5%. With this IDA increase, the total IDA that has become payable from 01.01.2014 will be 90.5% (85.5% + 5 %=90.5).

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

26-12-2013: CS writes letter to smt Chitra basu to expedite the issue of transfer of TTAs posted at Hill region...veiw for the letter copy

26-12-2013: Teleconference with siliguri SSA completed on 24-12-2013... CS Amit Khan and ACS Jagannath Sarkar attended...

almost all the members attended and quired the situation of snatta  and a burning issue and Conference ...a major issue of transfer case from hill area were discussed...CS briefed on all the matters and need of our unity...it is right that the TTAs spent more than 5 years in hill area but due to injustice , they are not being released although GM siliguri had issued for transfer of those more than 6 months ago.....but still they are not released.....
as such we think we shall shout for them unitedly and as such CS writes a letter to CS NFTE to intervene into it and take more steps on it so that they can be transferred......

at the same time it is be remembered that only if we got united then only be achieved all otherwise not and as such we all should join conference.
thanks to all members along with Soumitra Paul and Sandeep , Swapan, susmita and others.... for conducting such conference.....

Sunday, December 15, 2013

16-12-2013: for the ladies member we shall provide separate accomodation .. there will be no problem at all....

16-12-2013: dear TTA freinds , it is worth while to say that so many issues are pending for settlement which will damage our future severly if not settled.... not only the wage loss there is also many issues which can impact not less that the damage of wage loss.. so come on cordially and show our unity in conference meet...think positively... and join the meet...no excuse will meet the damage of urself if your future be paralysed.. so freinds wake up....join cent percent....

16-12-2013: the members who are from distant place.. there is nothing to be worried as there will sufficient & well lodging and fooding arramgement.....we are preparing for IQ and Hotels....but the number of member who will attend is to be known very soon... so all DSs are requested to inform the name and SSA and their phone number within next seven days.... otherwise we shall be in a problem of arranegment... treat this as most urgent.....

16-12-2013 : as it is winter season , the programmes of Circle Conferences may tough to be completed within a single day and hence SNATTAWB is thinking about extend one day more....final decision will be informed within one or two day i.e. 8 th & 9 th februray.2014........every DSs are requested to comment on this by tomorrow....

16-12-2013: today 78 nos JTO is joining as JTO who was promotted from DRTTAs through JTO LICE.

16-12-2013: today the unwanted " NIRBHAYA" incidence were happened in a year ago.....in DELHI RAPE CASE........

Thursday, December 12, 2013

12-12-2013: snattawbtc congratulates all the DRTTAs who GOT JTO PROMOTION BY WAY OF JTO LICE>>>>>phase -1 Training is completed and will now be released....freinds now the left DRTTAs are advised to get prepare for next JTO LICE persuation so that immediate JTO LICE COULD BE CONDUCTED.........


12-12-2013: DoT moves Cabinet note to hive off BSNL’s tower infra

The Department of Telecom has moved a Cabinet note seeking permission to hive off the tower assets of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd into a new company.
BSNL has 61,622 towers, which is the second largest tower portfolio among all telecom companies. Indus Towers, a joint venture between Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular, is the largest player with 1.2 lakh towers.
“Establishment of a separate company for holding and managing the tower infrastructure assets of BSNL will enable the new company to unlock the true potential of the tower business and leverage it for expansion and spread of infrastructure,” the DoT note said.
According to DoT calculations, if the tower assets were considered as a separate entity it would have earned Rs 964 crore in 2012-13. Based on certain assumptions, DoT expects the EBITDA of the proposed tower company to touch Rs 2,357 crore by 2023.
Total asset base

The total asset base of the proposed company is estimated at Rs 7,226 crore with fixed assets of Rs 6,517 crore and net working capital of Rs 708 crore. Since the hiving off will impact BSNL’s top line, it has been proposed to incorporate Rs 2,500 crore as loans from BSNL at an interest rate of 12 per cent. The earnings by way of interest would neutralise the negative cash impact on BSNL, the note stated.
The transfer of assets to the new company would be liable to levy of Rs 475 crore worth of stamp duty. DoT has proposed to seek a waiver from the Delhi Government. The new tower company is expected to have a workforce of around 3,000 people.
Though BSNL had opened up its tower infrastructure for sharing in 2010, it did not get many tenants. On the other hand, private tower players, such as Bharti Infratel, have been able to unlock value by listing its shares on the stock exchanges.
Private companies have also been able to get into infra sharing agreements, which have helped reduce their costs.
In contrast, BSNL has only one per cent of the market for tower tenancies.
“There are several reasons for the low market share, which include lack of focussed marketing mechanism for customer acquisition, the perception that BSNL towers have a lower site uptime, pricing of infrastructure being more expensive than prevailing market rate, the perception of conflict of interest between BSNL and non-BSNL tenancies and perception of poor response to tenant complaints,” the DoT note said.
Hiving the assets into a separate company could bring in the required focus. Nearly 50,000 towers of BSNL are connected by optical fibre cable, which is useful for transmitting data services.
External tenancies

According to DoT’s estimates, the market for external tenancies is expected to be in the region of 80,000-100,000 towers in the next five years. The proposed company could garner 16-18 per cent of the total market share.
The DoT has proposed to hive off the assets in phases. Under the proposed plan, the tower assets will be moved into an independent business unit within BSNL and operational activities, such as marketing, would be outsourced to private partners.
In the second phase, the unit will be converted into a wholly-owned subsidiary.
The entire process is expected to be completed in 12-18 months after the Union Cabinet approves the proposal.

Source the Hindu....

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

27.11.2013: BSNLEU met GM (Estt.) on 26.11.2013...

Leaders of BSNLEU Com. P. Abhimanyu, GS and com. Swapan Chakraborty, AGS , met shri R.K. Goyal, GM (Estt.), yesterday the 26.11.2013 and discussed Wage reduction issue: 
The Management Committee note, based on the recommendation of the Committee, is submitted for approval. After approval, it will go to the Management Committee.

27.11.2013: NFTE President and Secretary HQR met Director (F), Sr. GM(Est) and GM (Restg) on 26-11-2013.

 NFTE President and Secretary HQR met Director (F), Sr. GM(Est) and GM (Restg) on 26-11-2013 and discussed about Wage erosion issue.. Reported, the committee has finalized its reports and same is being processed for consideration of Management Committee of BSNL.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

21.11.2013: Circle Conference of SNATTA WBTC to br held on 8th February 2014

As per decision of Circle Executive Committee tele-meeting on 21.11.2013 it is decided that, the Circle Conference of SNATTA WBTC to be held on 8th February 2014. All members from all corners are directed to book their tickets in advance.
detail program schedule will be notified soon....

Monday, November 18, 2013

19.11.2013: Only MTNL, BSNL phones likely for govt officials, public sector executives..

NEW DELHI: Babus and public sector executives may have to surrender phones and broadband connections from private operators such as Airtel and Vodafone and shift to the networks of state-owned MTNL and BSNL as part of the government's plan to improve the finances of the two PSUs.

The proposal envisages shifting the entire telephone expenses paid by the central government — mobile phone, landline, broadband and enterprise bills — to the state-run telcos and give exclusive rights to them. A similar model is followed for ailing Air India, which continues to bleed despite government officers, PSU executives and those working for autonomous bodies funded by the Centre flying the national carrier. "They may be making losses, but MTNL and BSNL are public assets. We are working on this proposal as part of measures to support their revival," said a government official, defending the plan.

MTNL, which operates in Delhi and Mumbai, has been accumulating losses since 2008-09. In 2012-13, the company registered a loss of over Rs 5,300 crore on annual revenue of a little under Rs 3,500 crore. The losses for BSNL, as per unaudited results, were close to Rs 8,200 crore in 2012-13, compared to around Rs 8,850 crore in 2011-12. BSNL has been in the red since 2009-10. "The basic idea is to ensure that whatever money is spent by the government on telecom usage, it goes to BSNL and MTNL," a senior BSNL executive said.

courtesy: TOI

19-11-2013: DoT sets up phone terminals in naxal-hit areas of Chhattisgarh through BSNL....

The Home Ministry had asked the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to provide 15 truck mounted base tower stations (BTS) to Chhattisgarh for the elections stating that uninterrupted communication network was important for smooth conduct of elections. 

The Home Ministry said that since work for installation of mobile towers in naxal-affected areas was yet to commence, the DoT should make available truck mounted BTS to the security forces to ensure smooth communication and better coordination ..


19-11-2013: Facebook on a basic phone? Indian company makes it possible

Menon's team at U2opia, which was founded in 2010, has fine-tuned USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) technology and is using it to allow anyone with a mobile phone to connect to Facebook. USSD is a service that is used by telecom operators to a connect the mobile phone users to telecom servers. It is ubiquitous and even if a user has a very basic phone and no data connection, he can use USSD to connect to Facebook. 

It is also familiar to users. For example, when you check your remaining pre-paid balance in the phone using a code, you use the USSD technology. 

"It is a 1G solution that works in a 3G world," Says Menon. "Affordable and reliable data connectivity is a rarity in a country like India. Even when people have phones that can use a data connection, they don't have access to a 3G network or cannot afford the expensive data plans. For these people, our solution provides a way to connect to Facebook." 

The USSD-based access to Facebook is seamless and works well. In India, it is available to almost all mobile phone users, except those who are using network of BSNL. To access Facebook from a basic (or from a smartphone that has no data connection) a user has to first subscribe to the service by dialling *325#. Once the service is active, which happens within a few minutes, users can utilize the USSD menu to go through their timeline, check status updates, post status updates and check likes or comments on their posts. The service also allows access to Facebook Messenger and users can exchange messages with their friends. 

There is no limit on how many times you can access Facebook or how many messages you can send to your friends on Facebook messenger. While different operators charge different price for the service, usually the price is around Re 1 per day, making it a cost-effective way to keep in touch with friends. 

Status messages posted on Facebook timeline through the USSD go live on the website immediately. 


19-11-2013: a teleconference meeting among Circle Executive committee will be held on 21-11-2013 regarding our circle conference issue.....alll CEC members are requested to propose regarding date and venue.....this year we shall arrange Circle Conference in a well and good manner...and shall dec;lare it well in advance so that every member from each corner amy get chances to attend the conference......


19-11-2013: ith profound grief we express our deep condolences at the sudden death of Com. R.Ravivarman, TTA-Thiruppanandal, JOINT SECRETARY-SNATTA-Kumbakonam SSA - TamilNadu Circle and his beloved father due electrocution during thunder storm rain in his native village near Kumbakonam,Tamil Nadu Circle.


Saturday, November 9, 2013

09.11.2013: Wage erosion of staff appointed on or after 01-01-2007

AS per NFTE CHQ Website, President (NFTE) and GS (NFTE) met Sr. GM(Est) on 9th and requested to accelerate the process of settlement of wage erosion problem of employees. It is expected the committee will meet finally next weak.

Thursday, October 10, 2013

10-10-2013: BSNL, MTNL must invest in R&D to reduce dependence on imports: National Security Council...PTI News

KOLKATA: The National Security CouncilSecretariat wants to make it mandatory for Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd to invest in R&D to reduce dependence on imports and also develop a vibrant telecom products ecosystem in the country. 

The NSCS is India's apex security agency that looks into the country's political, economic, energy and strategic security concerns. 

"Telecom research efforts in India are sub-optimal and it could be considered whether expenditure on R&D could be made mandatory and eligible for tax benefits, which would be particularly relevant for public sector entities like BSNL and MTNL," says the NSCS in a confidential note seen by ET. 

A senior BSNL executive said "there is currently no compulsion on either BSNL and MTNLBSE 1.13 % to spend money on product development research". 

At present, bulk of the telecom R&D activities by government entities in undertaken by Centre for Development of Telematics Ltd (C-DoT) and ITI Ltd, while the telecom department's technical wing, the Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC) plays a coordinating role. 

"While C-DoT and ITI have made forays into telecom product development, these needs to be enhanced much more for evolving an ecosystem that fosters development of patents, generation of intellectual property rights and also influences international communications standards," says the NSCS report. It further adds that "incentives must be considered" for generating and registering IPRs relating to telecom products. 

The apex security agency has also urged the telecom department to strengthen internal systems to undertake "assurance testing and certification" before any component is integrated into Indian telecom networks. 

It, however, believes "blocking of procurements from foreign companies may not be a practical proposition", given the heavy dependence of the domestic telecom industry on foreign gear, and accordingly, wants the telecom department to examine whether the current model of testing and certifying telecom products in the UK can be implemented in India. The report does not provide details of the UK testing model. 

The NSCS has also urged the telecom department to consider the feasibility of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) for high-end telecom products manufacturing. "SEZs can assure a domestic market as well as promote exports to reap the benefits of economies of scale to make India a source of high-end telecom equipment," says the central agency. 

The apex security body's observations also come at a time when India is setting up multiple regulatory agencies for coordinating telecom security-related initiatives to shield India's telephone networks from potential cyber attacks.

10-10-2013: BSNL cautions people against fraud job offers.....

NEW DELHI: State-run telecom companyBSNL today said it neither appoints any agent nor asks for any kind of money deposit for job or interviews from job seekers, while cautioning people to be wary of offers made by unscruplous persons. 

BSNL said it observed that certain individuals and agencies are contacting job aspirants promising false employment in BSNL either directly through press advertisements or indirectly through agencies. 


10-10-2013: Net-enabled cellphone ( through BSNL)s to be distributed under MGNREGA.....cost of cellphone is likely Rs. 1200/-

NEW DELHI: Net-enabled cellphones could soon be provided to 2.5 crore people under the MGNREGA scheme. 

The ambitious scheme to be launched ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 is aimed at enhancing tele-density in rural areas. 

According to the proposal, one person per family registered under MGNREGA schemewill be provided with the cellphone for which a recharge of Rs 30 per month will be provided for free for two years. 

This will entitle the users 30 minutes of airtime, 30 SMSes and 30 Mbps net or data usage per month. If users cross the Rs 30 limit, they will have to get a recharge at their own cost. To get the cellphone, the beneficiary will have to pay Rs 300. 

Sources said the government prefers to provide the cellphone to a woman member of the beneficiary family. 

The scheme will be funded by Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) at a cost of Rs 4,850 crore spread over a period of four years to cover 2.5 crore beneficiaries, they said. 

Universal Service Obligation is access to telegraph service to people in rural and remote areas at affordable and reasonable prices. 

25 lakh people will be provided with the handsets in the first year, while 50 lakh more beneficiaries will be added in the next year. 

The cellphone is likely to cost Rs 1,200 for which BSNL - the service provider - will undertake competitive bidding, the sources said. 

According to the proposal, the scheme would enable people in rural areas to access information related to agriculture, health care, education, financial services, skill development and employment. 

Around five crore households have been provided work in year 2012-13.

10-10-2013: SNATTA WBTC wishes SUBHO SARBOJONIN DURGOTSAV ......to all............


Wednesday, October 9, 2013

09-10-2013: BSNL CO clarified no need to medical verification of JTO LDCE candidate......


09-10-2013:meeting of NFTE and DIR ( HR) .on 08 th OCT , 2013.....regarding

In addition to o other issues, our wage erosoin issue was also discussed as below:the union demanded that DIR(HR) and DIR(F) should meet immediately and resolve it. then
"the chairman agreed to discuss and finalise the issue within a week"

Friday, October 4, 2013

04-10-2013: when the ITSs were recruited did they not get the 50 % DA merger before pay revision after their appointment... i want to ask them recall their memory at the time of their appointment... what happened.at that time....?


04-10-2013: it is understood mgmt has supposed that 50% IDA merger was wrongly given to post 01.01.2007 employees but how funny it is..?

 26th February, 2008 DPE OM No. 2(7)/2005 DPE- (WC) GL-III 61........this order writes as below: 
Merger of 50% of Dearness Allowance with basic pay to the employees of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) following 1997 Industrial Dearness Allowances ( IDA) pattern scales of pay.
hence from the above notification nowhere it is mentioned that 50% IDA merger is not applicable to post 1-1-2007 employees...merger is applicable to the scale of 1997 pattern..you know all employees of post 01-01-2007 employees were availing 1997 pattern scale till its further  revision ..... hence there is no question of not giving 50% IDA merger to post 01-01-2007 employees.....

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

25.09.2013: Prime Minister approved the constitution of the 7th Pay Commission for central govt staff - Finance Minister...



Prime Minister Approves the Constitution of Seventh Central Pay Commission; Recommendations are Likely to be implemented with effect from 1st January, 2016

Saturday, September 21, 2013

21-09-2013:

WHY WE SHALL NOT ADOPT
“BHUKHA OFFICE”

TILL TRADE UNIONS DECIDE FOR INDEFINITE STRIKE PROGRAMME JOINTLY AS THEY HAVE DONE FOR 78.2% CASE

Friday, September 20, 2013

20-09-2013: Trade unions should now only eye on BSNL youth and the BSNL.. they should give the prime importance to the youth as this part will now only save BSNL...

our agenda: 1) wage erosoin issue..
                   2) reduction of JTO LICE service condition
                   3) Pay scale upgradation of TTAs
                   4) superannuation benefit..
                   5) merger of 35 % and 15 % vacancy through RR 2001.
                   6) Change of designation of TTAs
                   7) assure JTO vacancy as per RR 2001...
                   7) etc
if they want to save BNL , then they should only save the youth of this organisation......

20-09-2013: SNATTAWBTC feels something should be done if nothing done by Trade unions...we are thinking about " BHUKHA OFFICE"....if we found that our wage erosoin matter is not solved then trade unions should take indefinite strike till settlement of the issue...if the trade unions do not take anysuch move we may move for " BHUKHA OFFICE" till trade unions take indefinite strike programme for wage erosoin issue.....call your DS regarding detail of the matter...we are culturing for it.. if need arise we may take decision....we shall send our proposal to our CHQ soon for adoption of the same....


Sunday, September 15, 2013

16-09-2013: All District Secretaries and Circle Executive members are requested to check their E-mails.. TWO mails( one some days ago and one just now) regarding prposal for the further step over wage erosoin loss matter ... cultivate the matter in the SSA and reply immediately....... its urgent....


16-09-2013: Govt decided to refund 11000 crore refund to BSNL and MTNL....

The Group of Ministers (GoM), headed byFinance Minister P. Chidambaram, on Thursday, decided to refund over Rs 11,000 crore to BSNL and MTNL, the two state-run players, for returning broadband wireless access (BWA) spectrum.

At 09:30 a.m.; MTNLBSE 0.13 % pared some of the morning gains and was trading 2.5 per cent higher at Rs 15.75. It has hit a low of Rs 15.41 and a high of Rs 16.20 in trade today.

MTNL has rallied over 50 per cent so far in the month of September as compared to over a 40 per cent fall in the year 2013. Shares have rallied from Rs 9.94 observed on 30 August to Rs 15.35 recorded on 12 September.

"The Group of Ministers took firm decisions - one in relation to pension of MTNL employees, the second in relation to the spectrum that was allocated both to BSNL and MTNL in the 2.5 GHz band, and one other small issue," Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal said.

Friday, September 13, 2013

13-09-2013: freinds, SNATTA being a non-executive Association , it is not recognised by BSNL and hence any trade union action can not be taken by SNATTA...we are in SNATTA only to compell the trade unions to make /solve our issues....and the trade union of BSNL will move for us only when we got united and show our unity....after continous loss of BSNL, only for the trade union action , 78.2% IDA merger effect was given to pre 2007 employee for which huge amount of cash outflow took place. for our case if it not resolved it is only due to trade union inaction... so trade union have to cordially move for us... we hope they will recognise the sentiment..

13-09-2013: our issue will be solved if severe steps is taken by the trade unions only... in no case , without thrust by trade unions, the Management move...

13-09-2013: It is understood that due to leave of committe member( GM EF) formed for wage loss issue, the matter has now no headway...remind the time when Hon"ble Judges were on leave in many times at the time of our Wage loss Court Case hearing......friend , our issue will be solved as early as we got united and we can show our unity....

13-09-2013: thanks to NFTE for writing letter to CMD regarding wage loss issue....

13-09-2013: thanks to BSNLEU for writing letter to Administration regarding wage loss.....

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

12-09-2013: Govt plans to give 2.5 crore mobile phones, 90 lakh tablets free of cost through BSNL.....starting from 2014...TOI

NEW DELHI: In another mega scheme to woo the poor, the Centre proposes to spend Rs 7,860 crore distributing 2.5 crore mobile phones and 90 lakh tablets virtually free of cost to targeted beneficiaries over the next four years starting 2014-15, in the name of bridging the digital divide in the country.
The mobile phones will come bundled with free connection charges for two years. The user, who will have to pay a one-time charge of Rs 300, will also get 30 minutes of talk time, 30 text messages and 30 Mb of data usage free per month. This scheme will be restricted to the rural population.
Similarly, tablets will be given away to students of classes XI and XII, both in rural and urban areas. These gadgets will have free data card connection for two years.
The proposal has been sent to the telecom commission by the department of telecommunication (DoT). After it's approved by the commission, the plan will be sent to the Union cabinet.
States to decide beneficiaries
The programme will be implemented by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd on behalf of the government. In the first year, 25 lakh mobile phones and 15 lakh tablets are proposed to be distributed at a cost of Rs 395 crore and Rs 772.5 crore, respectively. In the second year, the department aims to give away 50 lakh phones and 35 lakh tablets at a cost of Rs 880 crore and Rs 1,858.75 crore, respectively.
In the third year, 75 lakh people will get phones at an expenditure of Rs 1,365 crore and 40 lakh students will be given free tablets at a cost of Rs 2,191.25 crore. In the fourth year, the free tablets program will end but will still cost the department Rs 150 crore in providing services for the data card connections. The department will spend Rs 1,850 crore in distributing the remaining handsets.
While the administrative and distribution charges for each mobile phone will be Rs 320, for tablets this cost will come to Rs 900.
In the case of tablets, beneficiary will get device and data connectivity for a maximum period of 2 years or his/her duration of study at school, whichever is less. The service provider will give a free package of 75 minutes talk time, 75 SMSes and 500 MB data usage every month.
The proposal says selection of beneficiaries for the programme will be done by state governments. But they will have to meet broad guidelines fixed by the department — only one beneficiary from each family covered under MGNREGA and 30% 'open' beneficiaries for mobile phones.
For tablets, the government will target students of classes XI and XII studying in government schools who are not covered by other similar schemes. The list of eligible students would be provided by school authorities and authenticated by state governments.
Funding for the programmes will from the Universal Service Obligation Fund, which is being realized through a levy of 5% on telecom services revenues from operators. Till March 31, 2013, this kitty had nearly Rs 28,000 crore and Rs 6,500 crore was being added every year.

12-09-2013: BSNL has also chalked out plan to post profit before taxes by 2018....ET

Present MTNL CMD AK Garg and BSNL CMD R K Upadhyay were selected through search-cum-selection committee recommended by panel headed by Advisor to Prime Minister Sam Pitroda for revival of both the PSUs. Both the CMDs were appointed in 2011 for three year period with an option for extension.
The process was approved by the TC in July 2010. Under present CMD R K Upadhyay, BSNL has been able arrest its losses that it had been posting since 2009-10. BSNL has also chalked out plan to post profit before taxes by 2018.
On the other hand, MTNL also expects to be cash flow positive by finacial year 2014-15 and post profit by FY'2017-18.
MTNL reported widening of the net loss to Rs 5,321.12 crore for financial year 2012-13, compared to Rs 4,109.78 crore in FY'12. BSNL losses, as per unaudited results, stood at Rs 8,198 crore for 2012-13, compared Rs 8,851 crore posted in 2011-12.
While PESB is done with the phase of application submission on August 27 for BSNL CMD, it has fixed last date of October 17 for MTNL CMD applications.

Monday, September 9, 2013

10.09.2013: DoT may give BSNL a Rs 10,000-crore breather soon..

KOLKATA: The telecom department may allow strugglingBharat Sanchar Nigam a breather by excluding Rs 10,000 crore it is likely to get from the Universal Services Obligation Fund (USOF) for implementing two government telecom ventures while computing licence fee.
State-run BSNL is likely to receive the amount from the USOF kitty over next three years for rolling out mobile networks in India's naxalite hotbeds and handling 70% of the trenching and cable laying costs in the national broadband venture, popularly known as the national fibre optic network (NOFN) project.
Media report: 
The Economic Times

Saturday, August 31, 2013

30-08-2013: media news on IDA rate........

BSNL Employees Industrial Dearness Allowance (IDA) Rates from October 2013 to be increased highly…
Industrial Dearness Allowance(IDA) rates are based on All India Consumer Price Index (IW) average for the specified months, and now the CPI [Industrial Workers(IW)] for the month of June and July 2013 increased and stood at 231 and 235 which are to taken for October 2013 Industrial Dearness Allowance(IDA).
BSNL Industrial Dearness Allowance 011013
Based on the average of Consumer Price Index [Industrial Workers(IW)], IDA of BSNL Employees is to be increased by 6.1% from 1st October 2013, where at present the Industrial Dearness Allowance(IDA) rate is 78.9% from 01.07.2013.

If 1 point increase in CPI numbers for the month of August 2013 will lead to a jump of 6.3% and if 2 point increase will lead to a jump of 6.6 % in IDA from 1st October 2013 and from 01.10.2013 IDA rates of BSNL employees is to be increased to 85% or more, and have a look for Old Industrial Dearness Allowance(IDA) rates of employees......

30-08-2013:Govt to bring parity between pay scales of MTNL, BSNL.....business line..

The Government has decided to bring parity between the pay scales of employees at Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd with their counterparts in Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. This will be done at the time of next wage revision in 2017.
At present, MTNL workers get higher pay compared to BSNL employees.

REHAB PLAN

The move to bring parity is part of Government’s overall plan to revive the two public sector telecom companies. This will also mean that pension benefits of the two companies will be brought at par.
“The liability of the Government towards pension of absorbed employees of MTNL may be restricted to the equivalent scales of similarly placed employees in BSNL. In case MTNL decides to pay pension on the basis of existing pay scales, the liability arising from the same shall be borne by MTNL,” a top Government official said, adding that this was decided at the last meeting of the Empowered Group of Ministers.
MTNL has been told to get a written agreement with the employees to this effect. However, MTNL employees said the Government proposal may not be accepted by the workers’ union. High wage costs have been a concern for MTNL. Salary and pension expenses of MTNL employees are more than its revenues.
In addition to the pay scale, the Department of Telecom has presented to the EGoM a multi-pronged strategy to revive the two PSUs. For example, the DoT has offered to take over the debt of MTNL and BSNL in return for their surrendering broadband spectrum.
While MTNL has a debt of around Rs 8,400 crore, BSNL has taken loans of Rs 2,500 crore.

BROADBAND SPECTRUM

The DoT has proposed this to the Empowered Group of Ministers so as to save the Government from paying cash immediately to the two public sector undertaking.
BSNL and MTNL had taken broadband spectrum in 2009 without participating in the auction. The two PSUs were told to pay the final bid price quoted by the private players. As a result, BSNL ended up paying Rs 8,300 crore, and MTNL Rs 4,500 crore.
But after two years, the PSUs could not find a suitable business model to make money from wireless broadband services using this spectrum.
(This article was published on August 26, 2013

31.08.2013: NFTE AI President met Director (HR) on 30-08-2013 and discussed about the Loss of pay to the Post 2007 appointees in the Pay revision:-The attention of Director (HR) was drawn over the delay in the settlement. The union was told that the Committee is meeting and last meeting was held on 29th August...

Courtesy: NFTE CHQ website..

Friday, August 23, 2013

23.08.2013: NFTE All India President and Com. Michael met the authorities at BSNL HQR

The following issues were discussed:
 (1) Wage erosion settlement committee: The committee has not held further meeting. However, the reply of BSNL HQR in response to CAT orders will not stand in the way of settlement of the matter. 
(2) Modification in R/R of TTA: It is in process. The union will submit its views on getting the proposal from corporate office.


Courtesy: NFTE CHQ website

Friday, August 16, 2013

17-08-2013: BSNL asked to speed up Rs 13,000 crore network project.......ET

KOLKATA: Telecom secretary MF Farooquihas asked Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd(BSNL) to speed up its processes and award contracts to two vendors within a couple of months to supply devices for a Rs 13,000-crore communications network the company is building for the armed forces. 


Tuesday, August 13, 2013

13-08-2013: CHQ conveys its sincere thanks to BSNLEU for writing to Sr.GM(Estt.) for provisioning of Superannuation Benefits to Direct Recruits of BSNL.


13-08-2013: SNATTA CHQ conveys its sincere thanks to NFTE (BSNL) for writing to Sr.GM(Estt.) for provisioning of Superannuation Benefits to Direct Recruits of BSNL


13-08-2013: wage erosoin issue update................................

Wage Erosion Issue Update: Friends, Today Com. Islam Ahmed, President, NFTE (BSNL) and Com. Rajmouli Secy. NFTE (BSNL) met Dir.(HR), Sr.GM (Estt.) & Sr.GM (SR) and discussed the Wage Erosion Issue for post 2007 recruited TTAs. It has been learned that the case is under due consideration of the Committee, formed by the Management & is moving in positive direction. Also, resolution of this issue is expected very soon. So Members are requested to be very calm & patient till the Committee gives its final decision.
SNATTA is committed for the favorable resolution of the Wage Erosion Issue.

Also, SNATTA CHQ conveys its sincere thanks to NFTE (BSNL) for continuously pursuing the Management for the early resolution of Wage Erosion Issue of post 2007 TTAs.

Monday, August 12, 2013

12-08-2013: BSNL estimates say it needs Rs 40,000 crore in 5 years...media news...

NEW DELHI: State-run telecom company BSNL needs to invest an estimated Rs 40,000 crore in the next five years to become profitable, Chairman and Managing Director R K Upadhyay said today. 

In order to retain its market share, BSNL is required to provide 182 million connections by 2017-18, which would be around 14 per cent of 1,300 million projected customer base. 

The BSNL by end of March last year had 121.65 million telecom customers, including mobile and landline users. 

"We have prepared estimates where we need to invest aggressively on our network. The estimates project investment of Rs 40,000 crore over a period of next five years," Upadhyay told PTI. 

The loss making PSU hopes to register a profit Rs 35 crore before tax by 2017-18 if it is able to execute the estimates. 

The Department of Telecom (DoT) has sought financial support from a Group of Ministers, headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram. 

BSNL has been logging losses since 2009-10. The company's profits started declining after 2004-05, when it had made net gains of Rs 10,183 crore. 

The PSU was impacted heavily after it paid 3G and Wireless Broadband spectrum price in 2010 which cumulatively amounted to over Rs 18,500 crore. 

The company expects its total income to grow to above Rs 44,000 crore by 2017-18 from Rs 26,396 crore it posted for last fiscal. 

In the next five years, BSNL expects to add capacity of additional 40 million lines with focus on Internet business, generate around Rs 2,500 crore from its land and building assets monetisation and hive off some real estate assets after permission from government.

12-08-2013: BSNL revises 3G Data STVs and SMS Packs, 1GB@Rs 125 -effective 15 Aug.....

BSNL, India’s only pan bsnl sms1India 3G mobile operator is now ready to offer 3G data plan at more affordable prices to Indian customers.  The company is reducing 3G data plan rates up to 45% from the existing prices for both prepaid and postpaid customers in all over India effective from 15Aug.
BSNL is now scrapping all its existing 2G/3G data STVs and will have only four types of data STVs. The MRP of 3G data STV for prepaid customers will starts from Rs 139 which offer 1GB of 3G data, at present this STV costs Rs 250.
The details of revised 3G data STVs for prepaid customers are as belowBSNL_3gSTV
All the above STV will be effective from 15 Aug-2013
For postpaid customer, BSNL is more liberal and will offer data plans at more reduced prices .The 1GB data plan for postpaid customer will cost Rs 125 only.
The details of revised 3G data plans for Postpaid are as belowbsnl_3gpostpaid
All these rates for postpaid will be effective from billing cycle starting from 1 Sept-2013.
BSNL is going to close all the below 2G data plans from 15 Aug-2013 because now onwards, the default profile of any BSNL customer will be 3G with no speed restriction that means as per the network availability and as per your device, you will get the speed of data usage.
bsnl_3gpostpaid2
From above it is also clear that for postpaid customer, those are subscribed to postpaid plans of FMC of Rs 725 and Rs 1500 and were enjoying unlimited free data usage, will now have to be satisfied themselves by reduced data usage of 1GB and 2GB respectively.
BSNL is having five Rate cutter SMS STVs and from 15 Aug-2013 , BSNL is going to modify the feature of all these Rate cutter SMS STVs. Now instead of reducing rates, a fixed number of free SMSs on any network will be allowed by using these STVs.
For heavy SMS sender, BSNL also have introduced a new SMS STV of MRP Rs 147 which allow user to send 3000 free SMS on any network within validity period of 30 days but user must be aware that as per TRAI guidelines, a user can send 100 free SMS per day only and beyond this limit, every SMS will be charged @50p per SMS.bsnl_smsR

12-08-2013: BSNL, MTNL given time till September 30 for BlackBerry interception.....

NEW DELHI: State-run BSNL and MTNL, which have missed three deadlines to ensure real-time interception ofBlackBerry services, have now been given time till September 30 to come up with a solution.
BlackBerry services were termed as security threat at one point of time by security agencies as they were unable to decode the communication made through devices and systems.

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

08-08-2013: Did Pakistan’s ISI penetrate BSNL’s systems? Govt fears Pakistani intelligence officers tricked a BSNL staffer and installed malware on the telco’s networks..click for details......Live Mint news

Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) may have successfully penetrated the database of state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd(BSNL) and also installed spyware in the telco’s systems, India’s interior ministry fears, according to documents reviewed by Mint.
Posing as Major Vijay from Indian Army headquarters, Pakistani intelligence officers had called up a BSNL employee in February this year, and followed it up by email communication with the staffer to obtain critical information. The home ministry is of the view that this email communication led to the ISI successfully installing malware on BSNL’s networks, and this may have “contaminated the telco’s computer systems and compromised the integrity and security of the system”.
The home ministry is worried that the spyware may enable Pakistan’s ISI to “identify and access communication links of sensitive organizations”, making the latter vulnerable to cyber attacks.
The documents show that the home ministry also fears that the alleged spyware will enable Pakistan to remotely monitor BSNL’s networks and operations, providing the ISI with the capability of disabling critical networks.