Even though the Communications and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has denied a merger between BSNL and MTNL, sources said the department of telecommunications (DoT) is still considering Cooperation between the two.

Sources said that last week a meeting was held between the top officials of the two companies with the secretary of the DoT. The chairman and managing directors (CMDs) of the two companies were also present in the meeting.

Main agenda of the meeting was greater cooperation between the two PSUs.

Earlier, Mr Prasad informed the parliament that there was no proposal currently to merge the state-owned BSNL and MTNL. “At present, the government has no proposal to merge BSNL and MTNL. However, BSNL and MTNL are trying their best to generate the maximum revenues for their revival and revitalization,” Mr Prasad said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.