Amidst Vodafone India crisis, global CEO Nick Read may visit India on March 6, meet Ravi Shankar Prasad

Amidst Vodafone India crisis, global CEO Nick Read may visit India on March 6, meet Ravi Shankar Prasad

Among other firms, Vodafone-India has been the worst hit after the court's verdict as it owes over Rs 50,000 AGR dues to the telecom department

FPJ Web DeskUpdated: Tuesday, March 03, 2020, 01:54 PM IST
article-image

Vodafone Group CEO Nick Read mulls to visit India on March 6 and has requested the Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad for a meeting, sources said.

Requesting anonymity, the source close to the matter said that the government, however, has not confirmed the meeting yet.

The meeting comes ahead of Vodafone India-Idea faces a crisis following the court's verdict against the company.

Among other firms, Vodafone-India has been the worst hit after the court's verdict as it owes over Rs 50,000 AGR dues to the telecom department.

Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla had earlier said that the company will fold if it is forced to make payment of over Rs 53,000 crore dues. He had even held multiple rounds of discussions with the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and the telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad over the last few days to explore options to keep the company afloat.

In all, as many as 15 entities owe the government Rs 1.47 lakh crore - Rs 92,642 crore in unpaid licence fee and another Rs 55,054 crore in outstanding spectrum usage charges.

These dues arose after Supreme Court, in October last year, upheld the government's position on including revenue from non-core businesses in calculating the annual Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) of telecom companies, a share of which is paid as licence and spectrum fee to the exchequer.

The Supreme Court earlier in February had rejected a plea by mobile carriers such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone-India for extension in the payment schedule and asked them to deposit an estimated Rs 1.47 lakh crore in past dues for spectrum and licences.

(With inputs from Agencies)

RECENT STORIES

How Hero FinCorp Helps You Use A ₹2 Lakh Personal Loan to Rebuild Your Life?

How Hero FinCorp Helps You Use A ₹2 Lakh Personal Loan to Rebuild Your Life?

Adani Family Completes Ambuja Warrant Subscription, Infuses ₹20,000 Crore To Increase Stake To...

Adani Family Completes Ambuja Warrant Subscription, Infuses ₹20,000 Crore To Increase Stake To...

'...World Must Laugh At Us': Sindh High Court Orders Pakistan's Interior Ministry To Lift X's...

'...World Must Laugh At Us': Sindh High Court Orders Pakistan's Interior Ministry To Lift X's...

Mahindra's Bolero Neo Plus: Luxe, Safe, ₹11.39 Lakh

Mahindra's Bolero Neo Plus: Luxe, Safe, ₹11.39 Lakh

Magellanic Cloud Eyes $300 Million Business In Drone-Based Last Mile Delivery Services

Magellanic Cloud Eyes $300 Million Business In Drone-Based Last Mile Delivery Services