Govt freezes Voda Idea's dues, gives 5-yr payment moratorium; capped AGR dues to be reassessed
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New Delhi (PTI): The government on Wednesday approved a major relief package for Vodafone Idea, freezing its outstanding AGR dues, approving a five-year moratorium on payment, and clearing the way for reassessment of the capped statutory charge - giving a critical lifeline to the beleaguered telco.
The relief measures approved by the Union Cabinet aim to protect the interest of the government (which has about 48.9 per cent stake in the telco), enable orderly payment of dues to the Centre by way of spectrum auction charges and AGR dues, ensure competition in the sector and safeguard the interests of 20 crore consumers of Vodafone Idea, according to sources.
The Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, agreed to freeze AGR dues of Vodafone Idea at Rs 87,695 crore, which the struggling company now has to start paying from 2031-32 fiscal and clear by 2040-41, sources aware of the decision said.
The frozen dues will be reassessed by the telecom department based on 'deduction verification guidelines' of 2020 and audit reports, sources said, adding that the outcome will be decided by a government-appointed committee and be binding on both parties.
AGR dues refer to payments owed by telecom companies to the government based on Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR). It is the revenue on which telecom operators must pay license fees and spectrum usage charges.
As per the relief package, AGR dues for FY 2017-18 and FY 2018-19, which were finalised based on the Supreme Court order of September 2020, will now have to be paid over 2025-26 to 2030-31 fiscal without any change, they said.
Sources said this amount works out to roughly Rs 120 crore per annum and between Rs 700-800 crore over the six years.
Responding to a clarification sought by BSE on the issue, Vodafone Idea said in a filing: "We have not received any communication from the government in relation to the above-reported matter. As and when there is any development which requires disclosure, we will do the needful".
Vodafone Idea has been battling a prolonged financial crisis, driven by intense price competition, high debt, and massive AGR liabilities that arose from a change in the definition of AGR. The company has struggled with persistent losses, a shrinking subscriber base, and limited ability to invest in network expansion, even as rivals accelerated 4G and 5G rollouts.
Repeated rounds of government relief and equity conversion of dues have kept the company afloat, but its long-term viability continues to hinge on sustained policy support, fresh capital infusion, and a turnaround in operating performance.
Some had expected that the Cabinet would waive a part, if not all, of the AGR dues immediately. But instead, it decided to give a moratorium on the bulk of the dues, with reassessment in the offing, giving the beleaguered company a shot at stabilising its operations.
Sources pointed out that the telecom is a critical infrastructure sector with strong linkages to economic growth and employment generation.
According to sources, the government remains firmly committed to supporting the sector, ensuring financial stability and preserving healthy sectoral competition for the benefit of customers.
The sector is also highly concentrated, and the government would, in the interest of consumers and competition, like to have multiple players in such critical sectors; therefore, the survival of VIL as a viable player is important.
The move comes in the backdrop of a favourable order VIL got from the Supreme Court, which allowed the government to reconsider and take an appropriate decision with reference to the additional AGR demand raised for the period up to the financial year 2016-2017, and of comprehensively reassessing and reconciling all AGR (adjusted gross revenue) dues, including interest and penalty.
Vodafone Idea incurred a loss of Rs 12,132 crore in the first half of the current fiscal, and its net worth stood at negative Rs 82,460 crore as of September 30.
The total debt of the company stood at Rs 2.02 lakh crore at the end of the reported quarter.
The company, however, has shown improvement in its financial performance by narrowing losses during the reported quarter on a year-on-year basis.
VIL's consolidated net loss year-on-year narrowed to Rs 5,524 crore in the second quarter ended September 2025, mainly on account of savings in finance cost on debt from banks and an increase in average revenue per user supported by tariff hike.
Earlier this month, Vodafone Idea had informed that its subsidiary VITIL has completed a Rs 3,300 crore fundraise by way of issuing non-convertible debentures.
The proceeds, it had said, will be used by VITIL to repay its payment obligation to Vodafone Idea, enabling it to bolster its capex and support business growth.
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791 drone intrusions along IB reported in 2025: Defence Ministry
New Delhi (PTI): A total of 791 drone intrusions -- nine incidents along the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir and 782 along IB in Punjab and Rajasthan -- were reported during 2025, the defence ministry said on Wednesday.
"Effective employment of own spoofers and jammers along the western front significantly countered the drone threat," it said.
During this period, 237 drones were brought down by the Indian forces along IB sector -- "five drones with war-like stores, 72 drones with narcotics and 161 drones without any payload", the ministry said in a year-end review statement.
"A total of 791 drone intrusions (nine incidents along IB in J&K and 782 along IB in Punjab/Rajasthan) were reported during this year," it said.
The ministry said the security situation in J&K remains "firmly under control" due to the relentless efforts of the Indian Army.
People have chosen to follow the path of development and has been actively participating in large numbers in all government and Army-run initiatives, it said.
The 'whole-of-nation' approach has resulted in "reduction in violence levels, scaled down protests and zero incidents of stone pelting".
The statement also underlined Operation Sindoor carried out on May 7 eliminating at least 100 terrorists in response to the horrific Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 innocent civilians.
Indian armed forces had launched a series of precision missile strikes on nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir under this military action, which resulted in a four-day conflict between India and Pakistan.
The hostilities ended with an understanding on halting the military actions on May 10 following talks over the hotline between army officials of the two sides.
"After the DGMO talks on May 10 and May 12, the situation remains stable though unpredictable. However, there has been an increase in Pakistan attempts to surreptitiously infiltrate terrorists through the LoC (Line of Control) and IB sector," the ministry said in its review.
"Pakistan attempted to activate Poonch-Rajouri region as a "hotbed for proxy war during the year 2023-24," it said.
Therefore, the deliverables for 2025 were clearly defined in terms of maintaining robust anti-infiltration grid, relentless conduct of operations in mid and higher reaches to dislocate or neutralise terrorists and reduce local recruitment of cadres by creating a conducive environment for development, the statement said.
"Security situation in hinterland continues to witness consistent improvement since 2019," it added.
Functionality of training camps, presence of terrorists in launch pads and continuing infiltration attempts substantiate Pakistan's "persistent intent to prosecute a proxy war strategy", the ministry said.
"Significant efforts are being made by Pakistan to exploit the IB sector not only to smuggle weapons and narcotics using drones, but also to infiltrate large strength of terrorists," it said.
The ministry further said in consideration of "ongoing operational concerns", sanction for emergency procurement in the niche technology domains of drone and counter-drone, weapon systems, precision ammunition, electronic warfare systems, surveillance systems, etc., was accorded.
"A total of 29 capability development schemes have already been contracted and another 16 schemes are likely to be contracted in December 2025," it said in its review.
On manufacturing of drones and achieving 'Aatmanirbharta' in ammunition production, the ministry said that "515 Army Base Workshop and select Corps Z Workshops/EME Battalions have established credible drone manufacturing capability using in-house expertise and collaboration with subject matter experts".
"The facilities are state-of-the-art, which meet the quality requirements of drones. A total of 819 drones (surveillance -193, kamikaze/armed/weaponised -337, first pilot view -289) have been manufactured till date by EME units".
