2022 draws to a close and the government is still mum on the roadmap for equity conversion for Vodafone Idea. Fifteen months after the cabinet agreed to equity conversion, the Department of Telecom (DoT) is yet to convert the government dues into equity.
The DoT has secured all necessary approvals for equity conversion but the file is pending consideration at the department.
The telecom company has also not announced any plans of rolling out 5G services in the country any time soon, while its competitors — Airtel and Jio — have started the rollout in several cities in phases.
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Timeline
In September 2021, the cabinet approved a telecom relief package for converting the government dues into equity.
In January 2022, Vodafone Idea Board approved the proposal to convert the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) and Spectrum dues into government equity.
In May 2022, SEBI granted approval to the government to convert the dues into equity.
In July 2022, the Finance Ministry granted a nod to equity conversion.
In October 2022, Voda Idea clarified that no guideline bars the government from taking equity even if the share price is below par value (Rs. 10).
Poor Financials
Since itsmerger, the telecom company has faced a cumulative loss of Rs 1.75 lakh crores and its subscriber base went down from 422 million to 245 million, about 42 percent. The company is in total debt of Rs 2.2 lakh crores.
First Published: Dec 30, 2022 4:06 PM IST
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