Voda Idea puts AGR dues at Rs 21,533 cr as Nick Read calls on FM Sitharaman

Just a few hours before Vodafone Group CEO Nick Read’s meeting with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and then Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Friday, the company announced that it had completed assessing its dues linked to adjusted gross revenue (AGR). At Rs 21,533 crore, Vodafone Idea’s calculation of the AGR liability turned out to be less than half of the government estimate.

While Read offered “no-comments” after his meetings with the ministers, sources in the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) indicated that the company was “positive” about India and that it wanted to make a ‘’new and good beginning’’ in the country.

Read, who’s maintained that it would be tough to continue as a going concern without relief from the government, was advised to pay up at least the principal amount of the AGR dues before March 17,