K M Birla steps down as Vodafone Idea chairman

Vodafone Idea Ltd’s board on Wednesday accepted chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla’s request to step down, as he distanced himself from the beleaguered telecom operator, underscoring the gravity of the crisis that has engulfed the once-booming strategic sector.

Birla will be replaced by Aditya Birla Group and telecom industry veteran Himanshu Kapania, Vodafone Idea said in a stock exchange filing. Aditya Birla Group chief financial officer Sushil Agarwal has also been named to the company’s board as an additional director.

Birla’s move to step down as the chairman of Vodafone Idea comes a day aftera it became known that he had written to cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba, offering to relinquish Aditya Birla Group’s stake in the company to any government-approved entity.