The ₹16,000-crore buyback programme of Tata Consultancy Services will begin on Thursday and close on September 21. The total number of shares to be bought back will be around 7.61 crore, less than 2 per cent of the total number of shares. The shares will be bought back at ₹2,100 a share through the tender offer route. Only those shareholders whose names had appeared on the company’s books as on August 18 are eligible to participate in the mega buyback offer.