Mittal complains about govt levies, to hike tariffs

NEW DELHI: Complaining that 35% of a telco’s revenues end up with the government as levies, Airtel chief Sunil Mittal said the company has “run out of patience” and will start raising tariffs progressively, looking at a threshold of Rs 99 for entry customers against the existing Rs 79.

Airtel has announced a Rs 21,000-crore rights issue as it looks to reduce its Rs 1.6-lakh-crore debt pile-up. Mittal said tariff revisions are the need of the hour even as the government should look at a softer tax regime for the debt-laden industry, which offers one of the lowest tariffs in the world.