National monetisation pipeline (NMP) report released. Bharat Sarkar estimates Rs 35,100 crore after the partial sale of rural development project BharatNet network and 13,500 mobile towers under State telecom firms.

As per the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) document, Niti Aayog, the State-of-the-art Resource Centre, valued the optical fibre assets of BSNL and BBNL (more than 2.86 lakh kilometres) to be Rs 26,300 crore. The value of 13,567 mobile towers owned by BSNL and 1,350 towers under MTNL is estimated to come around Rs 8,800 crores. With a partial sale of BharatNet Optical fibre and 13,500 mobile towers, the Indian Government expects Rs 35,100 cr as returns.

Indicative monetisation value of Rs 26,300 crores has been considered over FY23 and FY 24. It may be noted that the actual private investment towards these packages could be lower than the estimated Capex and a portion of CAPEX may be met out of the grant, the NMP document said.

“The bidding process for this project (Bharatnet) is expected to be initiated during FY’22 and the actual outlay of CAPEX will happen over 2 years from the date of award,” the document said.

A Brief on NMP

In the union budget 2021-22, the government handed over the creation of the NMP to NITI Aayog to provide a vision plan and direct the monetisation on the right path. As per this initiative, NITI Aayog has planned the asset monetisation as follows:-

In FY23, NMP aims to realise Rs 20,180 crore after the partial sale from BharatNet fibre (Rs 15,780 crore) and mobile towers sale (Rs 4,400 crore)

In FY’24, the amount expected is Rs 14,920 crore. Partial sale from BharatNet fibre (Rs 10,520 crore) and mobile towers sale (Rs 4,400 crore)

The NMP is meant to serve as an essential roadmap for the Asset monetisation of various brownfield infrastructure assets across roads, railways, shipping, aviation, power, telecom, oil and gas, and warehousing sectors, the document said

BharatNet Implementation-Progress so far

Important Facts to Know on BharatNet project

• Total Approved cost – Rs 61,109 crore
• The amount for BharatNet Phase-I, Phase II-Rs 42,068 crores
• The amount for VGF for PPP Model in 16 states -Rs 19,041crores
• VGF-Viability Gap Funding
• PPP model – Public-Private Partnership

According to our sources, Rs 24,201 crore has been utilised for the implementation of the BharatNet project as of March 31, 2021. The laying of 5,25,706 kilometres of optical fibre, intended to provide high-speed broadband connectivity in the rural areas, has been completed. The project, which initially aimed at 2.5 lakh gram panchayats, has now been extended to start work on the village levels.