BSNL pays Rs 1175 crores as dividend

NEW DELHI: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), the telecom service provider in the country, has paid a total dividend of Rs 1175 crores for the year 2005-2006.

A dividend cheque of Rs 800 crores, after adjusting the earlier paid interim dividend of Rs 375 crores, was handed over to minister of communications and IT, Thiru Dayanidhi Maran, by AK Sinha, CMD, BSNL, in a simple ceremony at Electronics Niketan, a BSNL statement said.

BSNL is the largest contributor among the PSUs to the Government exchequer. The company has contributed more than Rs 11,500 crores in the form of dividend, license fee, corporate tax, service tax, repayment of loan, etc. During the last five years of its existence, the company has contributed to the Consolidated Fund of India more than Rs 40, 000 crores and has been the largest service tax payer in the country.

The company has registered a net increase of 11.13 per cent in revenue during the year and also registered a growth of 23.6 per cent in the profit.

The company has been carrying out other social obligations, namely telephone services to rural, tribal and remotely located areas of the country. BSNL has provided more than 1.4 crore telephones in rural and tribal areas and Village Public Telephones in more than 5, 35,000 villages spread across the country.

©CyberMedia News