The Ministry of Communications and IT has stated that the total debt held by telecom operators in India for 2013-14 was Rs 2.42 trillion. Of the total debt, the share of public sector firms Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) stood at 7.6 per cent. While BSNL’s debt stood at Rs 44.59 billion, MTNL's debt stood at Rs 141.20 billion. The debt figures include long-term and short-term borrowings. They are based on audited/unaudited financial information submitted by financial information submitted by the service providers.

However, BSNL has seen its net loss come down from Rs 88.51 billion in 2011-12 to Rs 70.20 billion in 2013-14.  The Ministry has further stated that an amount of Rs 11.42 billion is outstanding against the private operators towards the payment of interconnect usage charges to BSNL.

The Ministry has also stated that the number of subscribers of the state-run telecom companies has declined from 2012 to 2014.  BSNL saw its subscriber base declining from 94.51 million as on March 31, 2012 to 92.4 million as on March 31, 2014 and further down to 78.12 million as on January 31, 2015. For MTNL, the subscriber base decreased from 5.58 million (March 31, 2012) to 3.24 million (March 31, 2014) and 3.38 million (January 31, 2015). MTNL operates in Delhi and Mumbai circles, while BSNL covers the remaining 20 circles.