Lok Sabha Question No. 2944 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-06
Subject: Equity Shares in Vodafone
Ministry: COMMUNICATION
Asked by: Shri Matheswaran V S

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2944 ANSWERED ON 6 TH  AUGUST, 2025

## EQUITY SHARES IN VODAFONE

## 2944. SHRI MATHESWARAN V S:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATION be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the percentage of equity share held by the Government on Vodafone as on date;

(b) the  details  of  AGE  dues  including  interest  pending  against  Telecom  companies,  Telecom Company-wise;

(c) whether  the  Government  is  not  taking  coercive  steps  against  Telecom  companies,  if  so,  the reasons therefor; and

- (d) the rational of the Government to buy equity shares of Vodafone which is a loss making entity?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (DR. PEMMASANI CHANDRA SEKHAR)

- (a) The Government currently holds 49 percent of the equity shares of  Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL).

(b) & (c) No payment obligation termed as 'AGE dues' exists under the terms and conditions of the license agreement. However, License Fee (LF) and Spectrum Usage Charges (SUC) are payable by the licensees based on their Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR). The details of pending AGR dues including interest of major telecom companies along with reasons for pendency are placed at Annexure I .

(d) To address the issue of financial stress in the telecom sector, the Government introduced a series of  structural  and  procedural  reforms  in  September,  2021  aimed  at  promoting  healthy  competition, protecting consumer interests, infusing liquidity, encouraging investment, and reducing the regulatory burden on Telecom Service Providers (TSPs). These included a moratorium of up to four years in annual payments  of  dues  arising  out  of  the  AGR  judgment  of  the  Hon'ble  Supreme  Court  and  spectrum purchased in auctions held before 2021. Option to the TSPs to pay the interest amount arising due to the said deferment of payment by way of equity was also given. Further, at the option of the Government and based on the prevailing situation, the outstanding amount of post-moratorium installments may be converted into equity.

Pursuant to these reforms, several TSPs availed the moratorium benefits as permitted under the guidelines. VIL also opted to convert the payment of interest for the moratorium period by way of equity amounting to ₹16,133.1 Crores. The company issued 1,613.31 crore shares in February, 2023 to the Government  of  India.  On  29 th March,  2025,  the  Government  approved  the  request  of  VIL  for  the conversion of outstanding spectrum auction dues amounting to ₹36,950 Crore into equity under Section 62(4) of the Companies Act, 2013, in line with the Telecom Reforms, 2021. Subsequently, the company issued 3,695 crore equity shares to the Government in April, 2025.

Annexure-I  referred  to  in  answer  to  part  (b)  &  (c)  of  Lok  Sabha  Unstarred  Question  No.  2944 answered on 06.08.2025

Details of AGR dues of Major Telecom companies with interest updated up to 31.03.2025 (Amount in ₹ Crores)

| Sl. No.   | Name of the company               |   AGR dues up to FY 2023-24 | Remarks                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
|-----------|-----------------------------------|-----------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1         | Bharti Group (Airtel and Hexacom) |                       48103 | A four-year moratorium was granted on the annual payments of dues arising out of the AGR judgment and dues pertaining to the period up to FY 2018-19. The pending dues are to be paid in six annual installments, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the moratorium, as opted by the companies. The pending dues beyond FY 2019-20 are under dispute / litigation. |
| 2         | Tata Group (TTSL & TTML)          |                       19259 | A four-year moratorium was granted on the annual payments of dues arising out of the AGR judgment and dues pertaining to the period up to FY 2018-19. The pending dues are to be paid in six annual installments, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the moratorium, as opted by the companies. The pending dues beyond FY 2019-20 are under dispute / litigation. |
| 3         | Vodafone Idea Limited             |                       84933 | A four-year moratorium was granted on the annual payments of dues arising out of the AGR judgment and dues pertaining to the period up to FY 2018-19. The pending dues are to be paid in six annual installments, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the moratorium, as opted by the companies. The pending dues beyond FY 2019-20 are under dispute / litigation. |
| 4         | Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited     |                        1746 | Under Litigation                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
| 5         | BSNL                              |                           4 | As per Cabinet Decision, AGR dues to be settled through equity conversion up to FY 2026-27.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
| 6         | MTNL                              |                       12780 | As per Union Cabinet Decision in July, 2022, the AGR dues are to be examined by Committee of Secretaries for further action.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
|           | Total                             |                      166825 |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |

## Note:

1. AGR dues include License Fee (LF) and Spectrum Usage Charges (SUC).
2. The dues shown in the table pertain to major telecom companies, excluding those that are undergoing insolvency or liquidation proceedings.
3. Except for the dues which are part of the Hon'ble Supreme Court judgment dated 01.09.2020 in the AGR matter, other dues are subject to revision, based on representations from TSPs, departmental assessments, CAG / special audits, court cases, etc.

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