Though officials of the navratna were unavailable for comment on the issue, sources said the move could be a fallout of the recommendations made by international consultant, McKinsey now working on a complete recast of operations in ONGC.

It may be recalled that the government had recently given PSUs the authority to increase the age of retirement from 58 to 60. This was implemented by most organisations and those personnel due to retire last year suddenly realised that they had two extra years to go.

"In the case of ONGC, the proposed move has been welcomed by all officers as it would pave the way for new entrants to the organisation," sources said. According to them, this step will also ensure thatthe excess flab in the organisation will also be trimmed to an extent.

If the decision is implemented, there is every likelihood that other oil PSUs like the Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation will also follow suit. "The recipe for success today is a lean and mean organisation and this is especially relevant to the oil sector which will face increasing competition in the days to come," experts say.

McKinsey is working on an exhaustive recast plan for the ONGC and one of the key recomendations is evolving separate profit centres within the organisation for activities like drilling which promise plenty. In this case, the oil PSU would be better off with a limited pool of expertise which can handle the job portfolio far better than hundreds of people.

The other problem in ONGC is that there are skilled workers in some fields like electric wiring whose talent is just not put to test. "In this case, there is really little point in these employeescontinuing to work in an organisation which just does not need their inputs," experts say.

It may be recalled that Air India is also in the process of reducing the retirement age to 58 for a different reason in that it has been piling up losses. Though the board has approved of the proposal, the ministry of civil aviation is still to give its assent to the plan.

Likewise, it remains to be seen if the ministry of petroleum and natural gas will give its nod to the ONGC proposal. The general consensus is that this is a move in the interests of the country and will give a fillip to the job market.