More than 57,000 employees of BSNL have opted for VRS in the last few days and the figures when combined with that of state-owned MTNL exceed 60,000, Telecom Secretary Anshu Prakash said on Friday.
The number of employees opting for the VRS plan has already crossed 22,000, out of BSNL's internal target of 77,000 employees, said the BSNL official who did not wish to be named.
Within days of government approving a relief package for the ailing corporation, state-owned BSNL has rolled out a voluntary retirement scheme for its employees, and said it expects 70,000-80,000 personnel to opt for it leading to savings of about Rs 7,000 crore in wage bill.
The BSNL has also instructed the chief of circles "to give wide publicity to the scheme to enable all the eligible employees to take an informed decision and exercise the option for VRS within the prescribed time period".
The Union Cabinet had last month approved a revival package for BSNL and MTNL which includes a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for their staff. The aim is to reduce the employee cost of the two companies by offering VRS to their staff aged 50 years and above based on the Gujarat model with some modifications
The communication said there will be Administrative allotment of spectrum to BSNL/MTNL for providing 4G services through capital infusion by the Government. The payment of GST on the spectrum cost will be paid through budgetary support. Sovereign Guarantee Bonds of Rs 15,000 crore of tenure of 10 years or more to be raised and serviced by BSNL/MTNL for the purpose of debt restructuring.
Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi here on Wednesday took a swipe over the proposed merger of loss-making BSNL and MTNL saying it was a government ploy to first merge and then sell it cheaply to the crony capitalist.
State-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), which received a fresh lease of life on Wednesday as the Cabinet approved its revival plan, will float a tender in November for 4G expansion at up to 50,000 sites.
The Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also announced revival plan for the both the telcos.The government announced four steps to revive BSNL and MTNL. Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that government wants to make these companies more competitive.
The government's plan to revive BSNL should be in the public domain within a month while 4G spectrum will be allocated to it by the end of this year, the chairman of the troubled telecom firm said on Monday. BSNL Chairman and Managing Director P K Purwar also said that the salary of all employees will be paid before Diwali on October 23 and 24.
In a major relief, lakhs of BSNL employees are all set to get September month salary before Diwali, BSNL chairman and MD P.K. Purwar confirmed. State-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has said that it is hopeful of paying salaries to its 1.76 lakh employees for September before Diwali.
Dismissing rumours about the state-owned operator's closure, heads of both Calcutta Telephones that looks after the Kolkata circle and the West Bengal telecom circle said deployment of 4G equipment is progressing at a rapid pace.
Ending days of agonising wait for employees, crisis-ridden Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has made salary payment to its staff for August, according to a top official.
No casualty was reported and the firefighters were engaged in extinguishing the blaze, a fire service official said.
"BSNL is requiring some package from the government. We want that BSNL should be promoted. That is the top priority of the government. On the top priority, we want that BSNL should work properly. So, we are also thinking for the package. You will find in future that we will provide some packages to BSNL," Meghwal told a press conference here on 100 days of the NDA government at the Centre.
The official, who did not wish to be named, said that while the telecom company is generating monthly revenue of about Rs 1,400 crore, there are certain liabilities, including interest payments, which have to be taken into account.
BSNL landline phones have become a lifeline for the people of Kashmir since all cellular phones were snapped across Jammu and Kashmir on August 5.
BSNL and MTNL are public sector companies (PSUs) that are making huge losses to the tune of thousands of crores of rupees. A source within Department of Telecommunication told IANS that merger is one of many components of a revival plan that is being chalked out for the two corporations.
As per data available with the Telecom Ministry till May 2019, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) have provided an aggregate of 757 Internet connections to members of Parliament.
Reliance Jio is the biggest mobile tower client for state-owned firms BSNL and MTNL, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad informed Parliament on Wednesday.
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