Govt considering private placement of BSNL shares: Pilot

MUMBAI: Union Minister of State for Communications and IT, Sachin Pilot, today said the Government is considering private placement of shares of state-run telco BSNL Ltd as hopes for an initial public offer (IPO) fade.

"There is no final decision yet (on a private placement of shares for BSNL). It is under consideration but the final decision will come from the Cabinet," Pilot told reporters on the sidelines of the NASSCOM summit here.

The Union Government has been mulling an IPO for Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, India's fifth largest telecom company.

However, it is felt that there might be a rethink on it now after the follow-on public offer of state-run power generator NTPC Ltd received a tepid response from investors.

Asked about the much-delayed auction of third generation (3G) spectrum, Pilot said the decision on inviting bids will be taken by the Group of Ministers (GoM), chaired by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.