New Delhi, December 3: BSNL will close the 30-day window of its Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) today. The scheme which opened on November 4, will close at 5:30 PM on December 3. According to a Hindu Business Line report, the public sector unit (PSU) had a target of offering VRS to about 80,000 personnel.

As of Friday, about 79,025 personnel had opted for the scheme, which was down from 79,211 employees a week ago. There has been an increase in people under the age of 55 years also applying for the scheme. 'MTNL, BSNL to Merge': Ravi Shankar Prasad Announces After Cabinet Meet, Trashes Disinvestment Speculations.

Employees will get 100-125 percent of the salary for remaining years of service, including pension, based on the retiring month wage, as per the VRS formula. Earlier last month, more than 13,500 employees opted for the scheme.

 The state-owned telecom service providers - Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and the Maharashtra-based Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) - will not be closed, clarified
The Union Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad recently clarified that the state-owned telecom service providers - Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and the Maharashtra-based Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) - will not be closed. Instead of disinvesting the two units, the Centre announced that it would be merging them to strengthen their fiscal position.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 03, 2019 11:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).