BSNL records highest call drop rate, highest cases of call muting among competitors in test held in UP
As per the findings, BSNL's Call Setup Success Rate (CSSR) stood at 86.57%, indicating that nearly 13% of call attempts failed to connect. Its Call Setup Time (CST) — the time taken to establish a call — was measured at 3.03 seconds, significantly longer than its competitors. BSNL also recorded the highest Drop Call Rate (DCR) at 3.45% in auto-selection mode, suggesting major network issues such as poor connectivity or inadequate mobile tower coverage in the area. This comes despite government claims that BSNL has rolled out over 95,000 mobile towers across the country.
'In line with Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, BSNL has placed purchase order for indigenously developed 4G sites for pan India deployment. Supply of 4G equipment has started from September 2023 and as on 30.06.2025, total 95,537 numbers 4G sites have been installed, out of which 90,035 numbers are ON-Air. The equipment is 5G upgradable,' said Minister of State for Communications Dr. Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar in Parliament.
In comparison, RJIL and VIL demonstrated superior performance in call setup times, with average CSTs of 0.77 seconds and 0.95 seconds respectively. Surprisingly, Airtel's CST was the highest among the private players, clocking in at 22.86 seconds. For Drop Call Rate, RJIL achieved a perfect 0.00%, while VIL and Airtel posted strong results at 0.20% and 0.23%, respectively.
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Indian Express
8 hours ago
- Indian Express
From Kolhapuri chappals to spices for diaspora: Piyush Goyal hails PM Modi for inking India-UK FTA after two-decade wait
Terming it a milestone for India's 'local for global' and Atmanirbhar Bharat pitches connected to the goal of a 'Viksit Bharat', Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday termed the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his UK counterpart Keir Starmer a gamechanger when it comes to accelerating India's journey towards becoming the third largest economy in the world. Arguing that the agreement had been clinched after two decades due to PM Modi's personal popularity and acceptability the world over, the minister said the FTA will also be beneficial for labour-intensive sectors and for GI products such as Kolhapuri chappals which were recently at the core of a controversy. 'This game-changing Free Trade Agreement brings unlimited opportunities for the country's farmers, entrepreneurs, the MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) sector, labour sector, the youth, fishermen…of all the Free Trade Agreements inked till now, this is the biggest, most significant and comprehensive,' Goyal said. 'In about 30 chapters, it addresses significant topics on which India could not walk shoulder to shoulder with those on the international stage earlier…on these, India has, with strength and on its own terms, signed it with confidence… I believe this will have a significant positive impact on the nation's economy going forward, and its benefits will become visible going forward,' he added. On one side, he said, the FTA had been inked with a developed nation which was the sixth largest economy in the world while on the other, the economic priorities and 'defensive interests' when it came to commerce, had been balanced. The dairy sector, for instance, he said, had not been opened up just like items identified as sensitive from the agriculture sector, resulting in a 'win-win' agreement as far as the interests of both sides were concerned. 'Dairy has not been opened; agriculture, no sensitive item has been opened; ethanol either… It is a win-win FTA which is comprehensive, simple and balanced cooperation, benefiting both sides, which has been inked after much back-and-forth over 22-23 years of discussions… This agreement could happen only due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi under whom India is a developing economy with its own capabilities and is no longer afraid of any competition as it moves forward with strength,' he said. Spices originating from India for instance, he said, would get duty-free access to the UK market 'benefiting the tastebuds' of the 50-lakh strong South Asian diaspora in the United Kingdom. 'I am saying this because more than 50 lakh people from South Asia stay in the UK – 18 lakh of them are Indian-origin; if we count the rest, they are from South Asia. All of their tastebuds (will now be able to benefit)…food items of daily consumption can now mostly be exported from India, ensuring a better market for the produce of Indian farmers after value addition through processing here. This has been our priority,' he said. Underlining the benefits for the textile, footwear, leather and toys, furniture, and labour-intensive sectors such as gems and jewellery, in addition to pharmaceuticals, he said the FTA would help MSMEs propel their products 'from local to global'. The agreement would also benefit Geographical Indication (GI)-tagged products such as Kolhapuri chappals, which India would now be credited for, the minister said, recalling his own fondness for them. Citing the recent controversy around Kolhapuri chappals as an example, Goyal urged those engaged in various sectors to study and utilise the provisions of the FTA for the benefit of the sector which they represented. 'The design of our Kolhapuri chappal was recently used in exported products on which the Commerce Ministry immediately took action. Going forward, when Kolhapuri chappals are exported, India will get credit, it will be done under India's name as a GI Indian product. Many international companies are now expressing interest in selling Indian designs through products manufactured by them in the global market,' he said. 'I personally feel that Kolhapuri chappals alone can sustain international business of between Rs 8,000 crore to Rs 10,000 crore. There are such beautiful designs which are there…I have myself spent my entire childhood in Kolhapuri chappals and understand the attraction that they have,' he added. 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'The UPA government used to sign FTAs with ASEAN countries…with those nations which are competing with us. They used to open India's markets to such nations which used to cause loss to our manufacturing sector by selling their produce at cheaper prices,' he alleged. 'The FTAs signed under PM Modi…and we are also in discussions with other developed nations (for agreements)…are with those with whom we do not compete but complement each other… This is another step towards the creation of a Viksit and Atmanirbhar Bharat…it will prove to be a milestone for Make in India and 'local for global',' he added. Jatin Anand is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express. Over the last 15 years, he has covered bureaucracy & politics, crime, traffic & intelligence, the Election Commission of India & Urban Development among other beats. He is an English (Literature) graduate from Zakir Husain Delhi College, DU & specialised in Print at the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai. He tweets @jatinpaul ... Read More
Hans India
15 hours ago
- Hans India
Second advanced manufacturing facility at AMTZ
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Time of India
17 hours ago
- Time of India
Scrapped batteries could power India's lithium boom
Gujarat is set to give the ' Atmanirbhar Bharat ' mission a significant push in lithium - the 'white gold' indispensable for powering gadgets and e-vehicles - while also extracting the metal without polluting the environment. Scientists at the Bhavnagar-based Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSMCRI) developed a clean, fast, and selective method to extract lithium from disposed batteries. This discovery could significantly reduce India's import bills as the country imports 100% of its lithium requirement. This study was recently published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition, a leading peer reviewed chemistry journal by the German Chemical Society. Scientists say the technology will give momentum to India's shift to green energy. On average, one ton of lithium requires processing about 28 tons of battery waste. The metal is recovered only after several stages of processes that are slow, inefficient, and costly, often resulting in metal contamination and loss, and the purity is also not high. This also deters battery producers from extracting lithium from waste. The conventional process, after recovering the black powder, first involves leaching all metals like nickel, cobalt, and manganese in the battery's cathode, resulting in significant loss and contamination. If scaled up after commercial application, businesses handling waste batteries could get a big encouragement and better price. At present, waste battery handling is not a lucrative business due to pollution and the small quantity of lithium obtained. CSMCRI's scientists have turned the problem on its head. Instead of lithium coming out last, their new method pulls lithium out first-with purity. After recovering the black powder from used lithium-ion batteries, anthraquinone salt and hydrogen peroxide are applied to selectively extract lithium. Kannan Srinivasan, director of CSIR-CSMCRI, said, "This method avoids the harsh chemicals and high-energy use of existing processes." Lead researcher and Principal Scientist Alok Ranjan Paital said, "We achieved 97% lithium leaching efficiency in just one hour. Also, compared to 2-3 days required by traditional methods to extract one ton of lithium, this new technique delivers the same results in just 2-3 hours with higher purity."
