In big relief for telcos, govt weighs Rs 1 Lakh cr AGR dues waiver
Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel after the Supreme Court order of 2019. Such a move, if implemented, would mark a watershed for the telecom business in India and will go a long way toward ensuring that the market doesn’t end up as a private sector duopoly, analysts said.
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People familiar with the matter told ET that the move, if finalised, will offer financial relief of over ₹1 lakh crore for telcos, more than half of which will accrue to distressed Vodafone Idea (Vi). The telco is staring at a repayment of thousands of crores of AGR dues to the government, starting FY26, raising questions about its viability.
Under the proposed relief, the AGR dues of Vi may come down by over ₹52,000 crore; for financially robust Bharti Airtel, by nearly ₹38,000 crore; and for Tata Teleservices, by around ₹14,000 crore, said a second person. Reliance Jio doesn’t have any legacy AGR dues and is not affected by the proposed measure. Tata Tele no longer offers retail mobility services, only enterprise mobility services.
“The proposal is being discussed at the highest level including the finance ministry, the telecom department and the cabinet secretariat,” said one of the persons aware of the details.
The government is working to announce the measure—the second such substantial relief package for the
