Govt summons urgent meeting on telco relief

NEW DELHI: The government has called an emergency meeting on Sunday, including key officials from the telecom and finance ministries and Niti Aayog, as efforts to come up with a bailout for the beleaguered telecom sector gather pace.

The process is being closely monitored by the PMO amidst heightened concerns over the fate of companies such as Vodafone Idea, which stares at a possible shutdown in case it fails to pay the telecom department Rs 53,000 crore as ordered by the Supreme Court.

The sources said the government is “deeply concerned over the worsening position of the telecom industry” with the Supreme Court making it clear that it wants full recovery of the Rs 1.47 lakh crore dues, demanded from the mobile operators.