Heena Sharma Blog

More than 92,000 employees of BSNL and MTNL have opted for voluntary retirement , Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Wednesday as he asserted that the government will make the two telecom companies profitable as they are strategic assets. The Communications Minister told the Lok Sabha that the merger of BSNL and MTNL will have pan-India foot print, synergy in operations, reduction of fixed costs and overheads, among others. The merger would resultantly help the two companies to "provide better quality services to customers on a pan-India basis," he said. During the Question Hour, the minister said over 92,000 employees of BSNL and MTNL have opted for Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS). As part of revival efforts, VRS was introduced for the staff of the two telecom firms and December 3 was the last date for submitting the applications. The employee costs at both firms are high. Both companies are strategic assets and the government would make them more profe

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentarian Om Birla is set to become the Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha after Wednesday's election. Birla, 57, is a two term Lok Sabha Member of Parliament. He won from Rajasthan’s Kota-Bundi seat in the just concluded general election. Birla has been a three-term legislator in the Rajasthan Assembly. Not just BJP's allies in the National Democratic Alliance, but parties such as the Biju Janata Dal, YSR Congress and others are also likely to support his candidature. Birla’s nomination by the BJP leadership as the party's candidate for the Speaker’s post suggests that it is rewarding 'humble workers' who have come up through the ranks. With Birla’s nomination, the National Democratic Alliance has departed from the decade-and-a-half old trend of nominating an experienced parliamentarian to the post. In 2004, 10-term Lok Sabha MP Somnath Chatterjee was elected as the Speaker. Five-term Lok Sabha MP Meira Kumar succeeded