MTNL defaults on loan repayments worth Rs 8,700 crore

The default includes Rs 7,794 crore in principal and Rs 865 crore in overdue interest to lenders including Union Bank of India, Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and State Bank of India.

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) has defaulted on loan repayments worth Rs 8,659 crore ($990.48 million) to a group of seven public sector banks, the state-run telecom company said on Monday.

In July, MTNL had disclosed defaults of Rs 8,585 crore to the same lenders.

The default includes Rs 7,794 crore in principal and Rs 865 crore in overdue interest to lenders including Union Bank of India, Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and State Bank of India.

The debt-laden operator, which has long struggled with falling subscriber numbers, mounting losses and shrinking relevance in India’s highly competitive telecom market, has been surviving largely on government support and debt roll-overs.

MTNL’s total debt has risen to Rs 34,577 crore ($3.96 billion) as of July 31, from Rs 34,484 crore in June-end, which also includes sovereign-guaranteed bonds and loans from the Department Of Telecommunications.