Kumar Mangalam Birla meets Telecom Secretary Anshu Prakash to discuss issue on AGR

Amid speculation of the Department of Telecom may encash bank guarantee over default in payment of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues, Vodafone Idea Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla on Tuesday met Telecom Secretary Anshu Prakash here.

Birla, who was also accompanied by Ravinder Takkar, MD & CEO of Vodafone Idea, was closetted with the telecom secretary for nearly one hour.

Emerging out of the meeting, Birla said he “cannot say anything at the moment.”

He also refused to respond to queries on whether or not Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) would default on payment of AGR dues or if the company could head towards insolvency.

A financial bank guarantee is equal to two quarters of licence fee and other dues. This amount could be in the range of Rs 5,000 crore each for Airtel and Vodafone Idea.