Telecom Relief Package AGR . But can give a time of 4 years
The much-awaited relief package for the telecom sector could bring a moratorium of around four years on payment of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR). Sources said the moratorium may also apply to spectrum payments. If these measures are implemented, it will be most beneficial for debt-ridden Vodafone Idea, which is struggling to survive as a concern.
The government is in talks with several stakeholders, including banks, for a package for the sector amid concerns of a possible monopoly in the Indian telecom sector if Vodafone Idea is shut down. It is also the most affected telco due to the government’s AGR claims.
Informed people said that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has proposed measures including reducing spectrum usage charges (SUC), which has been a long-standing demand of telecom service providers.
Other possible measures include a reduction in bank guarantees, and a possible change in the definition of AGR to exclude non-telecom items from its coverage. Some relief measures were expected to be approved by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday. However, no decision was taken on this.
Official sources said the government is of the view that competition should continue in the sector and any possibility of monopoly should be avoided.
Last week, former Vodafone Idea chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla met Union Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnav. During the meeting held on September 1, Birla and Vaishnav discussed the health of the sector and the urgent need for government intervention.
On 4 August, Vodafone Idea’s board accepted Birla’s request to step down as non-executive director and non-executive chairman of the board. Days before Birla’s resignation as chairman, it had become public that he had written to the government that he was ready to hand over his stake in the debt-ridden company to government entities to keep the company going.
In a letter to Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba on June 7, Birla said that with a “sense of duty” towards the 27 crore Indians associated with Vodafone Idea, he would like to hand over his stake to a public sector unit (PSU), a government are interested. entity or any domestic financial entity, or any other entity which the Government may deem fit to carry on the Company.
In the letter, Birla sought clarity on the substantial moratorium on adjusted gross revenue (AGR), spectrum dues and floor pricing, adding that without immediate and proactive government support, VIL’s operations would be at an “irreversible point of collapse”. .
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