The VRS, which opened on January 15 and will close on January 31, has attracted 16,000 applications - of which 75 per cent are from officers - in just two days.

According to highly placed SBI sources, in SBI's Bengal circle alone, one of the four general managers (GMs) has applied for the VRS, along with four deputy general managers (DGMs). The Bengal circle has around 6000 officers. The trend is similar at the other 13 circles.

SBI is headed by a chairman, who is assisted by two managing directors. Then come two deputy MDs. Next down the line are 14 chief general managers for as many "circles" into which SBI has divided the country. Then come the GMs, followed by DGMs, and an assistant GM for every "region" of 40 branches, followed by branch managers.

VRS applications from assistant general managers (AGMs) and branch managers are also quite high compared with the total number of such officials in the bank.

This high response is despite the fact that SBI has barred officers from a number of important departments from opting for the VRS.

The maximum VRS applications have been received by the Hyderabad circle (2,961). The Mumbai circle has got 2,800 applications, Delhi circle 2,260, Ahmedabad circle 1,718 and the Bhopal circle 1,288.

The number of VRS applications was also high in the Kochi, Chandigarh and Bangalore circles.

The total number of VRS applications has been low for Bengal, Patna, Bhubhaneswar and the north eastern circles. The lowest response is from Patna (285), followed by Bengal at 642.