New Delhi: Shares of MTNL today soared over 8per cent following reports of a renewed discussion of its merger with BSNL. After making a positive opening, MTNL's scrip gained 8 per cent to Rs 24.25 on BSE.

At NSE, shares of the company surged 8.42 per cent to Rs 24.45. After a hiatus of few years, the proposal to merge state-run telecom firms BSNL and MTNL is back on the

discussion table with top officials at the telecom department once again 'brainstorming' on various options concerning the two loss-making entities.

According to a highly-placed source in the Department of Telecom, a top-level meeting recently discussed possibility of merging both the entities that are facing financial stress due to increasing competition in the sector.

MTNL's standalone net loss has widened to Rs 819.96 crore, surpassing its total revenue, during the three-month period ended December 31, hit primarily by finance cost. The net loss surpassed its total income of Rs 690.59 crore.

The losses of BSNL have, however, narrowed to Rs 4,890 crore for the Apr-Dec period of the current fiscal, from Rs 6,121 crore in the year-ago period.