NEW DELHI: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Wednesday granted a third extension to Ravi A Robert Jerard to hold additional charge as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of BSNL, MTNL, and BBNL.
According to the DoT notification, the extension is effective from October 15, 2025, to January 14, 2026, or until a regular appointment is made, whichever is earlier. Jerard will not receive any additional remuneration during this period.
The interim arrangement is subject to the approval of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) and has been cleared by the Hon’ble Minister of Communications.
Jerard, an Indian Telecom Service officer with 34 years of experience, currently serves as Deputy Director General (Standards, Research & Innovation) in the DoT.
He was first assigned additional charge on July 13, 2024, following the rejection of an extension for then-CMD P K Purwar. His charge was extended twice — for six months from January 15 to July 14, 2025, and then for another three months till October 14, 2025.
Meanwhile, state-owned BSNL has shown signs of revival, posting back-to-back quarterly net profits for the first time in 18 years — Rs 262 crore in Q2 FY25 (July–September) and Rs 280 crore in Q3 FY25 (October–December).
The company also added 1.3 million new mobile customers in August 2025, marking its most significant growth in over a year. The last net addition was recorded in March 2025, with 50,000 new users. BSNL has so far installed 1 lakh mobile towers as part of its network expansion efforts.
