Scindia: No relief beyond SC verdict on AGR dues

New Delhi: Barring Vodafone Idea (Vi), no other telecom company is going to get any relief on their adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues as govt will not step outside the Supreme Court's mandate, telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said Wednesday. "We are operating under an SC verdict. As far as AGR is concerned, it is based on that verdict that we have taken whatever action. Any other telecom service provider who has a desire, can follow the same process," he told reporters.

In Dec, the Union Cabinet approved a relief package for the debt-laden Vi, freezing its AGR dues at Rs 87,695 crore and rescheduling the payment from FY32 to FY41, following an SC order that allowed govt to comprehensively reassess and reconcile all its dues, including interest and penalties, up to FY17. The central govt owns 49% equity in the troubled telecom player.

Earlier, Bharti Airtel had written to the telecom dept to seek a review of its AGR dues. Scindia also expressed eagerness to launch satellite services in India and said the rollout depends on finalising the pricing mechanism for spectrum assignment and ensuring that all security compliances are met. "Once these two requirements are fulfilled, spectrum can be allocated," he said.

The minister also clarified that there are no plans to extend the deadline for implementing SIM-binding norms for OTT communication platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram. These mandate six-hour logout requirements for web sessions. He said that the logout mandate applies only to virtual connections and does not affect direct usage on mobile phones.