The voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) being offered by the two state-run telcos — BSNL and MTNL — seems to have been a success, with nearly one lakh employees opting for it.
While a total of 78,569 BSNL employees have opted for the scheme, the number for MTNL stood at 14,387 employees, a source told The Hindu .
“The application window which was opened on November 4, closes on December 3. Till evening today [Tuesday], the combined employees count who opted for VRS for the two PSUs stood at 92,956. We should be able to give the final figures on Wednesday,” the source added.
Revival package
The VRS scheme was part of the government’s nearly ₹70,000 crore revival package for the two firms. In October this year, the Union Cabinet had approved the package which included VRS with an outlay of ₹30,000 crore. Besides, the Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also gave an in-principle nod for the merger of the two entities. In addition, 4G spectrum worth ₹20,000 crore will be administratively allotted to the two firms.
For BSNL, the initial target was that 70,000-80,000 people opt for the scheme, leading to a saving of about ₹7,000 crore in the wage bill for the company.
