Loss-making state-owned telecoms firm MTNL owed Rs 35.15 crore in interest as Union Bank of India is due in July, the company said in a regulatory filing. The company’s total debt stands at Rs 27,330 crore.

“MTNL defaulted on interest payments to Union Bank of India,” the filing said. The company shared a chart showing it defaulted on interest payments of Rs 35.15 crore on July 31, 2022.

The total outstanding loan disbursed by MTNL to Union Bank of India (UBI) is 5,849.71 crore. The loan was raised from Union Bank of India, Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank. Andhra Bank and Corporation Bank are now merged with UBI. The company owes Rs 16,930 crore to other banks and financial institutions.

MTNL reported that the consolidated loss for the June 2022 quarter narrowed to Rs 653 crore. A loss of Rs 688.69 crore in the same period last year. Consolidated revenue from the MTNL business fell by around 17% to Rs 250.72 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal.

Last year, the figure stood at Rs 301.15 crore in the same period. MTNL’s auditors said in a report that the company’s net worth had been completely eroded.

The note said the Department of Public Enterprises had declared the company an emerging central public sector enterprise, which the Ministry of Telecommunications also confirmed. In July 2022, the Union Cabinet approved raising Rs 17,571 crore of sovereign-covered bonds for MTNL over the next two financial years.