Tata Group has informed the Indian government that it will start winding down its telecom unit Tata Teleservices Ltd., The Economic Times (India) reported Oct. 7, citing people aware of the details.

Tata Group CFO Saurabh Agrawal and Tata Teleservices Managing Director N Srinath have reportedly met with officials from the Department of Telecommunications to discuss the surrender or sale of their spectrum holdings. The closure of the debt-ridden business will start "this month," according to a source.

The exit plan reportedly includes a notice of three to six months, severance packages for those willing to leave earlier, a voluntary retirement scheme for elders and transferring a small number of its employees to other group companies, according to a separate Oct. 8 report.

Tata Teleservices, which reportedly holds a 3.5% share of wireless customers in India, has been making losses and currently has a debt of about 300 billion rupees, weighing down the financial performance of its holding company Tata Sons Ltd.

As of Oct. 6, US$1 was equivalent to 65.47 Indian rupees.