Vodafone Idea Bankruptcy Will Strain Bank Sector: SBI

Vodafone Idea has been in trouble for a long time because of the massive financial distress caused by the default in AGR dues. The supreme bench asked the telcos to pay their AGR dues without any delays. However, banks addressed the government and mentioned their concern regarding the massive debt of Vodafone Idea towards the bank. The letter sent to the government by the Indian Banks Association (IBA) also included statements from the SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar. As per the letter, if Vodafone Idea falls down, the banks will also face losses as the telco giant owes massive dues to various public and private sector banks.

Vodafone Idea Owes Rs 17,560 Crore to SBI

As mentioned in the letter to DoT which was seen by ET Telecom, Vodafone Idea owes a massive amount of Rs 17,540 crore to SBI. Not only this, the telco giant approximately owes Rs 6,965 crore and Rs 21,788 crore to various public and private sectors banks respectively. IBA appealed the government to save the telco giant from massive financial distress as the fall of telco giant will also affect the operations of banks. IBA suggested that RBI should treat spectrum as tangible assets and label it as property under the bankruptcy code.

Also, IBA marked that fixation of minimum floor tariffs and reduction in spectrum usage charge will reduce the burden from the telco giant. All these measures will push back the telco from the verge of insolvency, and it will also relieve all the banks which owe a substantial amount to the telco giant.

Vodafone Idea Cleared Their Principal Amount Recently

Vodafone Idea is trying to reduce their financial liability. Recently, the telco giant paid Rs 3,354 crore and cleared their self-assessed principal amount which was approximately Rs 7,000 crore. The telco giant self-assessed their AGR dues at Rs 21,000 crore out of which Rs 7,000 crore was the principal amount.

However, as per DoT, the telco giant has to pay a whopping amount of Rs 53,000 crore towards AGR dues. To ensure their viability in the market, the telco giant has asked the government to give a period of 15 years to clear off their AGR dues along with GST refunds of Rs 8,000 crore which would be settled in their AGR dues.