Finance Ministry Nirmala Sitharaman has suggested shutting down the ailing public sector undertakings Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), reports.
As per reports, the ministry has also rejected the department of telecommunications’ (DoT) proposal to pump in a massive Rs 74,000 crore to revive the two PSUs.
As per the ministry information, the ministry is preparing the total expense for shut down that includes payment for the voluntary retirement scheme to all 1.65 lakh BSNL employees. Moreover, the DoT argued that its debt repayment will be lesser than Rs 95,000 crore.
BSNL has been suffering huge losses from some time. Employees are also deprived off their salaries for months.
According to reports, BSNL has 1.76 lakh employees across India while MTNL has nearly 22,000 employees. If the two PSUs are shut down, the families of these workers will have to feel the crunch.
It may be mentioned that in the month of September, India’s oldest factory of Parle G biscuits was shut permanently after running for 87 years. On August 22, a notification was released announcing that it may have to let go of 8,000-10,000 employees if the ongoing consumption slowdown persists.
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