The Centre has formed a top committee as a measure to resolve state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited’s (BSNL) long-pending human resources (HR)-related grievances and create a “Strategy and Transformation Vertical” for technology-driven interventions.
“With a view to ensure that the HR management framework in BSNL is appropriate for meeting the performance expectations in respect of the above, a committee…is hereby constituted to examine HR related issues and recommend appropriate measures,” the Ministry of Communications said in an official memorandum, dated April 9, 2026.
The committee will have the additional secretary (telecom) from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) as its chairman, supported by the senior deputy director general (personnel), the deputy director general (C&A) and government-nominated director from BSNL.
BSNL, in the committee, will be represented by its chairman and managing director (CMD), director (HR), Vijay Kumar Chhablani, chief general manager (Chhattisgarh) and Sudhir Gupta, chief general manager (CN-Tx).
Joydeep Dutta Roy, executive director at Indian Overseas Bank, will contribute with his private sector-driven expertise towards reforming the public sector telecom operator’s HR management.
It is to be noted that the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has extended the tenure of BSNL’s current CMD, A Robert J Ravi, five times since he assumed charge on July 13, 2024. His current term will conclude on April 14, 2026.The committee will be broadly tasked with strengthening BSNL’s governance and management; developing a performance management system and linking it with incentives, recommending an HR sourcing and development framework, and measures for succession planning capacity development; and suggesting a policy for deployment of members of the Indian Telecommunications Service (ITS) in BSNL, among others, as per the memorandum.
The committee will also seek to define the structure and functions of the abovementioned vertical, which is expected to anchor the tracking and validation of strategy across business verticals and functions; drive business strategy and ensure its execution; and recommend institutional arrangements and ICT systems for ensuring adherence to HR practices and for technology-enabled HR management.The Amit Agrawal-headed department has sought recommendations within three weeks.
The development follows communications, including letters, from various BSNL employee unions addressed to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government, seeking redressal of their HR-related issues, including slow promotions and career progression and the implementation of the 3rd pay revision committee (PRC).
BSNL worker associations, however, have sought the inclusion of a full-time board member in the committee to ensure holistic reforms.
“…absence of officers having a direct stake in BSNL from the committee renders the exercise incomplete and disconnected from the actual ground-level position in BSNL,” Ravi Shil Verma, chairman, Bharatiya Doorsanchar Manch and RC Pandey, convener, Bharatiya Doorsanchar Manch, wrote in a letter dated April 11, 2026, to Union Minister of Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia.
ETTelecom has reviewed a copy of the letter.
“Accordingly, we suggest the inclusion of a full-time board member looking after the field operations of BSNL to have a 360-degree analysis of all aspects of the company,” BDM said, adding that the committee should also include regular officers.
The employee group has also urged Scindia to discourage the practice of promoting officers on deputation to BSNL against reserved posts to ensure alignment with the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) and the Department of Public Enterprises’ (DPE) guidelines.
“…it is therefore requested that the office memorandum dated April 9, 2026, be reviewed immediately and incorporated with a truly representative mechanism from BSNL,” BDM added.