AGR issue: Top FinMin, NITI, DoT officials talk relief measures for telcos

An inter-ministerial group comprising officials from the finance ministry, NITI Aayog, and Department of Telecommunications on Sunday discussed urgent relief measures that could be extended to the telecom industry on adjusted gross revenue (AGR) issue.

The telecom department officials remained tightlipped after the high-level meeting on Sunday. The meeting comes at a time when the companies stare at Rs 1.47 trillion in unpaid dues — Rs 92,642 crore in unpaid licence fee and another Rs 55,054 crore in outstanding spectrum usage charges.

Of the estimated dues that include interest and penalty for late payments, Airtel and Vodafone Idea owe about 60 per cent. Airtel has raised $3 billion in the past few months and is expected to have sufficient funds to tide over the AGR crisis. Vodafone Idea, which has paid just 7 per cent of its total Rs 53,000-crore statutory dues, remains vulnerable.