Govt working on mechanism to support Vodafone Idea: Minister

In the petition, it said that its AGR liability as of March 31, 2025, is Rs 83,400 crore, with an annual installment of about Rs 18,000 crore due on March 31, 2026. The company said that this payment of nearly Rs 18,000 crore, which has to be paid on a yearly basis for the next six years, is far in excess of the company’s operational cash generation capacity each year. Vi’s annual operational cash generation was in the range of Rs 8,400 crore to Rs 9,200 crore in the past three years. However, the Supreme Court on May 19 dismissed the petition.

But the telco was hopeful that it would get relief from the government, as during a post-Q4 earnings call, VIL CEO Akshaya Moondra expressed his belief that the government should not be constrained in any way from offering relief if it chooses to do so. “Our view is that the government can provide relief,” Moondra reiterated.

The telco, in the past, twice got relief from the government. In March 2025, Vodafone Idea got a lifeline from the government as the government decided to convert outstanding spectrum auction dues worth Rs 36,950 crore into equity. With this, the government doubled its shareholding to nearly 49%. Before this, it had approved the conversion of Rs 16,133 crore of Vodafone Idea’s interest dues into equity in February 2023.

And in case it doesn’t get the relief, starting March 31, 2026, it must pay an annual installment of over Rs 18,000 crore for the next six years towards AGR and spectrum dues to the government. In 2025-26 itself, it will have to pay Rs 16,428 crore towards AGR dues and Rs 2,539 crore towards deferred spectrum dues. As per the quarterly result, Vodafone Idea’s net loss in the fourth quarter of 2024-25 widened to Rs 7,166 crore from Rs 6,609 crore in the third quarter and Rs 7,675 crore a year ago.