Industry’s debt to rise to Rs 6 lakh crore: Analysts

NEW DELHI: The telecom sector’s debt is likely to escalate to as much as Rs 6 lakh crore by this fiscal end following the spectrum purchase outgo, and network upgradation, two research analysts separately said.

“Post the auctions, the debt levels of the industry would increase further to around Rs 6 lakh crore as on March 31, 2023, with the addition of the spectrum liabilities,” Ankit Jain, Vice President & Sector Head, ICRA said.

Further, Delhi-based credit rating agency said that on the back of annual installments for spectrum payment coming to Rs. 13,365 crore for FY 2023, the cash outgo would stand at Rs 19,600 crore for FY 2024 and FY 2025 each, before increasing to Rs 65,500 crore from FY 2026 onwards.