Revenue of BSNL

BSNL appoints KCGK Pillai as finance director

2012-04-29 06:20:48, India

BSNL

Telecom Lead India: The state-run telecom giant BSNL has appointed KCGK Pillai as the new director (finance).

Pillai took charge on Friday. BSNL had been without a finance director for a very long time ever since S D Saxena retired more than three years ago.

Pillai, who will now sit on the BSNL board, was principal general manager (finance) before being elevated to the level of director, finance.

He is joining as finance director at a time when the cash-strapped BSNL reported gross revenue of Rs 4,166.73 crore for the quarter ended 31, December 2011, down 11.19 percent against Rs 4,691.86 crore for the quarter ended 30, September 2011.

BSNL gross revenue plunges 11% to Rs 4,166 crore in Q3

BSNL has posted gross revenue of Rs 4,166.73 crore for the quarter ended 31, December 2011, down 11.19 percent against Rs 4,691.86 crore for the quarter ended 30, September 2011. For the quarter ended 31 December 2010, the Indian Government owned BSNL's gross revenue stood at Rs 4,294.59 crore.

BSNL suffered loss of Rs 6,384 crore for fiscal 2011-12. Over the past six years, BSNL's revenue crashed from Rs 40,000 crore-plus in March 2006 to Rs 29,687 crore in March 2011, according to a report in Economic Times.

Pillai has put in 30 years in the telecoms sector and worked in the Department of Telecom (DoT) in UP, Gujarat and Maharashtra circles. He has held senior managerial roles in both BSNL and MTNL.

N.K. Gupta may shortly head BSNL's landline business after Rajesh Wadhwa, the present director (consumer fixed access), retires end-May.

During the quarter ended 31, December 2011, BSNL's wireless subscriber base stood at 96.76 million, increased 11.59 percent against subscriber base of 86.71 million for the quarter ended 31, December 2010. On the other hand, for the same period BSNL's wireline subscriber base stood at 23 million, declined 10.31 percent, compared to 25.65 million for the quarter ended 31, December 2010.

The position of director (HRD) is also likely to be filled up shortly. The slot has been vacant ever since BSNL's previous HRD director A. K. Garg assumed the reins at MTNL as chairman & managing director last December. At present, BSNL's director (enterprise business) A N. Rai is also overseeing the telco's HRD operations.