Government loses 1,757 crore rupees after BSNL's failure to bill Reliance Jio, led by Mukesh Ambani; internet users call it "free Chandan."
I will neither eat nor let others eat.
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has revealed that Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), a state-owned company, did not invoice Reliance Jio for sharing infrastructure over a ten-year period. This oversight has resulted in a loss of ₹1,757 crores for the government. According to the CAG report, BSNL did not charge Jio for the use of shared passive infrastructure from May 2014 to March 2024, leading to a significant decline in revenue.
The CAG highlighted that BSNL failed to enforce the Master Service Agreement (MSA) with Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. and did not bill for the additional technology used. This not only caused the aforementioned loss of ₹1,757.76 crores but also a lost revenue of ₹29 crores in infrastructure sharing charges, which includes GST.
Reactions to this situation were swift, with several social media users expressing their disbelief over the loss that could be attributed to an apparent "oversight" by BSNL. Humorous and sarcastic comments flooded the platforms, with some insinuating that the conflict resembled a "stand-up comedy" act and others suggesting that BSNL was in a state of amnesia similar to the character from the movie "Ghajini."
Meanwhile, users continued to comment that Jio's success might have negatively impacted BSNL, suggesting that the decline of the state-owned company had facilitated the growth of its competitor. Some memes also alluded to the connection between the big tycoons, sparking a debate about the state of the telecommunications sector in India and the apparent advantage that Jio has managed to capitalize on.