The Finance Ministry has reportedly suggested that ailing public sector undertakings Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) be shut down.
According to a report in the Financial Express, the Ministry rejected a proposal of the department of telecommunications (DoT) to pump in Rs 74,000 crore to revive the ailing PSUs.
Closing the PSUs will cost less than Rs 95,000 crore according to the DoT. This cost would contain an attractive voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) package to around 1.65 lakh employees of both firms.
A large number of officers from the Indian Telecommunications Service (ITS) and other PSUs are working in both the firms. And they can be redeployed in other departments.
Hence, the cost of closure will not be so high, the report added.
