Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL), a state-run company that offers basic telephony, mobile & internet services, witnessed a sharp rise in share price on Monday after the communications and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Sunday said the company is likely to turn profitable in the next fiscal.

"MTNL was in loss of Rs 29 billion loss in 2014. Today, their operating loss has come down from Rs 1.40 billion to Rs 700 million in one year time," Prasad told reporters in Mumbai.

Shares of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam are trading at Rs 22.55, up Rs 1.5, or 7.13% at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Monday at 12:48 p.m.

Total volume of shares traded on the bourses today was higher by 144.29% to 6,579,545 compared with 22-day average volume of 2,693,287.