MTNL shares in focus: Firm defaults on bank loans worth ₹8,585 crore; total debt obligations stand at ₹34,484 crore

Shares of MTNL, or Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited, a telecommunications service provider, will be on investors' radar on Wednesday, July 16, as the state-run telecom company on Tuesday said it has defaulted on bank loans worth ₹8,585 crore from seven public sector banks.

MTNL was established by the Government of India on April 1, 1986. It was created to enhance the quality of telecom services, expand the network, introduce new services, and generate revenue for telecom development in the metro cities of Delhi and Mumbai. MTNL is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).

The loss-making public sector telecom firm's total debt obligations reached ₹34,484 crore as of June 30, 2025, comprising a bank loan of ₹8,585 crore, a sovereign guarantee bond of ₹24,071 crore and a loan for DoT for paying sovereign guarantee bond interest of ₹1,828 crore, according to the filing.

The total loan default includes ₹3,733.22 crore of debt raised from Union Bank of India, ₹2,434.13 crore from Indian Overseas Bank, ₹1,121.09 crore from Bank of India, ₹474.66 crore from Punjab National Bank, ₹363.43 crore from State Bank of India, ₹273.58 crore from UCO Bank and ₹184.82 crore from Punjab & Sind Bank, along with principal and interest payments.

The defaults in loan payments have occurred between August 2024 and February 2025.

The state-run firm had reported a default of ₹8,346.24 crore at the end of March 31, 2025, that occurred during the same period of August 2024 to February 2025.

In March 2025, the government said in the Parliament that the state-owned telecom firm has earned ₹2,134.61 crore till January 2025 from the monetisation of lands and buildings.

The government informed the parliament on Wednesday that state-owned telecom firms BSNL and MTNL have earned a total of ₹12,984.86 crore from the monetisation of land, buildings, towers and fibre since 2019.

According to data shared by Minister of State for Communications Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar in Lok Sabha, BSNL has earned ₹2,387.82 crore and MTNL ₹2,134.61 crore up to January 2025 from the monetisation of lands and buildings.

"BSNL and MTNL are monetising only those land and building assets which are not required for their use in the foreseeable future and for which they have the right to transfer the ownership," Sekhar said in a written reply.

BSNL has earned ₹8,204.18 crore and MTNL ₹258.25 crore from the monetisation of close assets comprising towers and fibre up to January 2025, as per the reply.

"Monetisation of assets is being done as per the approved policy of the government, and its impact on the PSUs is being monitored closely," Sekhar said.