Vodafone Idea AGR Relief to Be Decided by Cabinet; At This Moment, There Is Nothing, Says MoS: Report

Vodafone Idea AGR Relief to Be Decided by Cabinet; At This Moment, There Is Nothing, Says MoS: Report
Any additional relief for Vodafone Idea (Vi) on its adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues will be decided collectively by the Union Cabinet, involving the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the Finance Ministry, Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Minister of State for Communications Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar has reportedly said.

  • Make Telecom Talk My Trusted Source
  • Source of Google
  • Source of Google

Also Read: No Plan to Convert Vodafone Idea into PSU, Says Telecom Minister

Decision on AGR relief rests with Union Cabinet

The telecom department is not contemplating providing any relief to Vodafone Idea with regard to adjusted gross revenue, Minister of State for Communications said on Monday, according to a PTI report.

“See, we have recently converted a lot of their debt into equity. Government has done whatever we thought we could do and at this time we don’t have any discussion or plan to change other than what we have done,” Sekhar told Moneycontrol, adding that the matter is too significant to be decided by any single ministry or official.

Sekhar underlined that the matter is far larger than the remit of any single ministry. “This is not something one person can [decide]. The discussion with the Cabinet, Modi ji, Finance Ministry, Union minister Scindia ji — all of them have to sit together and discuss these things. This is not a small amount of money to be decided by any one individual. At this moment, there is nothing.”

Also Read: Govt May Slash AGR Dues for Vodafone Idea, Airtel; PMO Reviews Relief Proposal

Asked if the PMO had received a proposal from DoT on extending relief to the operator, Sekhar reportedly replied: “Not that we know of.”

However, reports suggest the DoT has proposed “multiple relief options” to the PMO for consideration, including a fresh two-year moratorium on AGR payments, smaller annual instalments and a waiver of penalties and interest.