Government Might Not Monopolise Indian Telecom Industry Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad clearly noted that the government is not planning to monopolise the telecom industry as Vodafone Idea has almost 300 million subscribers in India. When Vodafone and Idea Cellular were merged, the subscriber base was around 440 million. Not only this, the Indian market is growing at a rapid scale and currently attracting various foreign investors. Nick Read marked that AGR issues must have been resolved back earlier as the telco is now facing huge distress. The government also wants Vodafone Idea to remain invested in India. To ensure Vodafone Idea stays in the industry, the government is planning various relief measures which would solve their massive AGR dues. Notably, the government might fix floor tariffs soon as it would revive the telecom sector and help the telecom sector to recover their losses. Telecom operators are now supporting floor pricing, including Reliance Jio as the financial health of the telecom industry is not in good shape. Vodafone Idea AGR Dues a Big Setback for the Company As per the estimates of DoT, Vodafone Idea has to pay Rs 53,000 crore to the government. However, the operator has self-assessed their AGR dues which stands Rs 23,000 crore out of which approximately Rs 7,000 crore is the principal amount. Currently, Vodafone Idea has just paid Rs 3,500 crore. Vodafone Idea has addressed the government to provide relief measures otherwise, they would be forced to shut down their operations. Also, the telco giant has asked the government to allow GST refund of Rs 8,000 crore which will be later settled in their AGR dues. Government is also planning to create stress funds which would offer soft loans to stressed telcos on easy terms.
