<p>New Delhi: The Union government on Wednesday decided to freeze its adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues to the debt-ridden Vodafone Idea (Vi) at Rs 87,695 crore and granted the company a five-year moratorium from payment.</p>.<p>The telco has been given the flexibility to pay the dues over a 10-year period, from the financial year 2031-32 to 2040-41.</p>.<p>The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the relief package for the struggling telecom operator, in which the Centre owns 49% stake, sources said.</p>.<p>The relief measure does not apply to AGR liabilities pertaining to FY 2017-18 and 2018-19. AGR dues relate to annual licence fees and spectrum usage charges required to be paid by telecom operators to the government</p>.Centre rolls out Rs 4,531-crore scheme to support exporters.<p>The relief package was expected to have a positive impact on the company’s balance sheet and the share price.</p>.<p>However, Vodafone Idea’s share crashed by 15% after the reports related to AGR relief emerged.</p>.<p>Share price of Vodafone Idea hit its day’s lower circuit of Rs 10.26 after rising to a 52-week high of Rs 12.80 in the afternoon trade.</p>.<p>The scrip ended the day 10.85% lower at Rs 10.76.</p>.<p>According to analysts, the government’s relief package was not up to the market’s expectations.</p>.<p>While the moratorium provides the company more time to make the payment, the market was anticipating a waiver of some sort.</p>.<p>Vodafone Idea’s share price has almost doubled after hitting a low of Rs 6.12 apiece in August.</p>.<p>Despite Wednesday’s fall it registered a gain of around 30% in 2025.</p>.<p>According to sources, the government’s action is aimed to ensure competition in the sector by keeping the company afloat. India’s telecom sector is dominated by billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio and Sunil Bharti Mittal’s Airtel.</p>.<p>Following the merger of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular in August 2018, Vodafone Idea had emerged as the country’s largest telecom service provider in terms of subscribers and revenue. However, due to high debt and fund crunch, the company failed to cope with the competition, losing its subscribers, mostly to Jio and Airtel. </p>.<p>Vodafone Idea is estimated to have around 20 crore subscribers now, around one-fifth of them are inactive.</p>.<p>While sources confirmed that the relief measures have been approved by the Union Cabinet, Vodafone Idea said it has not yet received any communication from the government.</p>.<p>“We have not received any communication from the government in relation to the above reported matter. As and when there is any development which requires disclosure, we will do the needful,” Vodafone Idea said in its reply to a clarification notice issued by the stock exchanges.</p>.<p><strong>Breather</strong> </p><p>Gets flexibility to pay dues over a 10-year period </p><p>Relief does not apply to AGR liabilities for FY 2017-18 and 2018-19 </p><p>Share slumps 11% as package not up to the market’s expectations </p><p>Market was anticipating a waiver of some sort</p>
<p>New Delhi: The Union government on Wednesday decided to freeze its adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues to the debt-ridden Vodafone Idea (Vi) at Rs 87,695 crore and granted the company a five-year moratorium from payment.</p>.<p>The telco has been given the flexibility to pay the dues over a 10-year period, from the financial year 2031-32 to 2040-41.</p>.<p>The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the relief package for the struggling telecom operator, in which the Centre owns 49% stake, sources said.</p>.<p>The relief measure does not apply to AGR liabilities pertaining to FY 2017-18 and 2018-19. AGR dues relate to annual licence fees and spectrum usage charges required to be paid by telecom operators to the government</p>.Centre rolls out Rs 4,531-crore scheme to support exporters.<p>The relief package was expected to have a positive impact on the company’s balance sheet and the share price.</p>.<p>However, Vodafone Idea’s share crashed by 15% after the reports related to AGR relief emerged.</p>.<p>Share price of Vodafone Idea hit its day’s lower circuit of Rs 10.26 after rising to a 52-week high of Rs 12.80 in the afternoon trade.</p>.<p>The scrip ended the day 10.85% lower at Rs 10.76.</p>.<p>According to analysts, the government’s relief package was not up to the market’s expectations.</p>.<p>While the moratorium provides the company more time to make the payment, the market was anticipating a waiver of some sort.</p>.<p>Vodafone Idea’s share price has almost doubled after hitting a low of Rs 6.12 apiece in August.</p>.<p>Despite Wednesday’s fall it registered a gain of around 30% in 2025.</p>.<p>According to sources, the government’s action is aimed to ensure competition in the sector by keeping the company afloat. India’s telecom sector is dominated by billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio and Sunil Bharti Mittal’s Airtel.</p>.<p>Following the merger of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular in August 2018, Vodafone Idea had emerged as the country’s largest telecom service provider in terms of subscribers and revenue. However, due to high debt and fund crunch, the company failed to cope with the competition, losing its subscribers, mostly to Jio and Airtel. </p>.<p>Vodafone Idea is estimated to have around 20 crore subscribers now, around one-fifth of them are inactive.</p>.<p>While sources confirmed that the relief measures have been approved by the Union Cabinet, Vodafone Idea said it has not yet received any communication from the government.</p>.<p>“We have not received any communication from the government in relation to the above reported matter. As and when there is any development which requires disclosure, we will do the needful,” Vodafone Idea said in its reply to a clarification notice issued by the stock exchanges.</p>.<p><strong>Breather</strong> </p><p>Gets flexibility to pay dues over a 10-year period </p><p>Relief does not apply to AGR liabilities for FY 2017-18 and 2018-19 </p><p>Share slumps 11% as package not up to the market’s expectations </p><p>Market was anticipating a waiver of some sort</p>