State-run telecom company BSNL has narrowed its loss to Rs 4,785 crore during 2017-18, even as its income declined to Rs 27,818 crore as against the previous fiscal, Parliament was informed today.

BSNL posted a loss of Rs 4,859 crore in 2015-16, Rs 4,786 crore in 2016-17 and Rs 4,785 crore (provisional and unaudited) in 2017-18, Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

The company's income stood at Rs 32,411 crore (FY16), Rs 31,533 crore (FY17) and Rs 27,818 crore in FY18 (provisional and unaudited), he added.

Since BSNL has incurred losses consecutively for the last three years, it has been declared as 'Incipient Sick' as per the guidelines of Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), the minister said.

Accordingly, action has been initiated by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for preparation of revival/restructuring plan of BSNL, he added.

MTNL, another state-run telecom firm, reported a loss of Rs 2,971 crore in FY18. This was against a similar amount in FY17 and Rs 2,006 crore in FY16.

The company, which has operations in Delhi and Mumbai, saw its income declining to Rs 3,116 crore in 2017-18 from Rs 3,552 crore in 2016-17 and Rs 3,513 crore in 2015-16.