The government will have to make substantial payments, as well as forego revenues in FY'23, if it wants to work on the survival of Vodafone Idea because it will have to extend the same incentives to the entire telecom sector. According to estimates, the industry has to spend around Rs 21,000-Rs 25,000 crore for spectrum which it bought on a deferred payment basis. Vodafone Idea has asked for a moratorium for another year (FY23). If granted, the government will have foregone the instalment payout for a third year in a row as it has already provided a moratorium for two years, giving telcos Rs 42,000 crore worth of relief.
Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal on Thursday said he had reached out to Vodafone's Nick Read after bold telecom reforms were announced by the government and will also speak to RIL's Mukesh Ambani, as the telecom czar vowed to take the lead in bringing the industry together to unleash India's telecom dream. Mittal exhorted the industry to collaborate in areas such as infrastructure sharing to reduce costs but vehemently ruled out possibility of any cartelisation among players. Amid reports of its potential tie-ups with handset makers to counter Jio's upcoming ultra low-cost smartphone, Mittal said Airtel is in a state of "readiness" on an affordable smartphone "should a need arise".
The sale of the Lincoln House in the Breach Candy area of south Mumbai, which used to house the US consulate, to the billionaire chairman of the Pune-based Serum Institute, makes it the largest real estate deal in the country's financial capital.
Ambani is also the year's biggest gainer, adding USD 9.3 billion to his wealth amid the continuing success of his Reliance Jio broadband telco service.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has initiated discussions with banks to address financial stress in the telecom sector, particularly Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) that urgently requires fund infusion to stay afloat. There was a meeting of DOT officials and senior bankers on Friday on the issue of Vodafone, sources said, adding that banks have been asked to look for a solution within the prudential guidelines. According to sources, senior officials from the country's biggest lenders State Bank of India and Bank of Baroda were also present among others in the meeting. More such meetings are expected to take place in the coming days, they said.
When the House was taking up private members' business, Chowdhury urged Rajendra Agrawal, who was presiding over the proceedings, to allow Gandhi to attend the House.
Rajendra Pal Gautam, who is social welfare minister in the outgoing government, retained the Seemapuri seat by a whopping margin of over 56,000 votes against LJP's Sant Lal.
The first President born after Independence takes office.
Bharti Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal on Wednesday asserted that a large nation like India needs three private players in the telecom sector, and hoped the government would take measures to offer relief to the industry that is facing "serious financial stress". The comments assume significance in the backdrop of Vodafone Idea's desperate struggle to stay afloat. Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla had in June this year offered to hand over the group's stake in debt-laden Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) to the government or any other entity to ensure that the company remains a going concern.
The Bharatiya Janata Party claimed that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is also "failing legally" after a Gujarat court verdict on Thursday held him guilty in a 2019 criminal defamation case.
Nikunj Saraf, Vice President Choice Wealth, answers your queries.
The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which will replace an ordinance promulgated for handling the transfers and postings of senior officers in the city government, was passed in the Lok Sabha on Thursday amid a walkout by opposition parties.
While all the Aam Aadmi Party MLAs present in the House voted in favour of the motion as expected, there was no vote against it due to the absence of BJP legislators.
Omkeshwar Singh, head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries.
The question mark over Vodafone Idea's survival is gone after the government's telecom package, managing director and chief executive officer Ravinder Takkar said in an interaction recently. The extended moratorium for spectrum payments and adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues has indeed ensured that Vodafone Idea survives, at least for the time being, but questions remain. Answers to those questions may determine the future of Vodafone Idea and its power to stay in a difficult telecom market in the coming years.
Proceedings in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were disrupted as Opposition members raised slogans demanding a discussion and a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the fraud-allegation-triggered rout.
Nikunj Saraf, Vice President Choice Wealth, answers your queries.
This day too will be completely devoted to oath-taking by newly-elected members of the lower House.
Some of our leaders were busybusy over the weekend.
When Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi's name was floated as Venkaiah Naidu's successor as vice president, the RSS instead suggested Jagdeep Dhankar, indicating that he was also Mohan Bhagwat's choice, states Prakash Bhandari.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has started scrutinising the file received from the Prime Minister's Office on coal block allocation to Hindalco to understand the circumstances on the basis of which the earlier decision to reject the company's application for the same was reversed.
Nikunj Saraf, Vice President Choice Wealth, answers your queries.
Omkeshwar Singh, Head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries.
A new board has been constituted for the merged entity 'Vodafone Idea Ltd' with 12 directors (including six independent directors) and Kumar Mangalam Birla as its Chairman. The board has appointed Balesh Sharma as the CEO, the companies said in a joint statement. The combination will have an all-India revenue market share of 32.2 per cent and take the numero uno slot in nine telecom circles, it said adding that both Vodafone and Idea brands will continue.
The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-Ahmedabad) on Friday said that the Sanskrit motto has not been dropped from its proposed new logo.
Congress leaders and workers continued their protests in several states on Thursday against Rahul Gandhi's questioning by the Enforcement Directorate in the National Herald money-laundering case with many of them taken into preventive custody including former Union minister Renuka Chowdhury in Hyderabad after she allegedly grabbed the collar of a police official.
Lok Janshakti Party leader Chirag Paswan on Wednesday blamed Janata Dal-United for engineering the split in his party and rejected the decisions taken by the faction headed by his uncle Pashupati Kumar Paras, saying the party's constitution does not authorise them any such power.
Kumar Mangalam Birla will be the non-executive chairman and Balesh Sharma the new CEO of the merged entity, which will remain listed.
Between 2011 and 2014, they indirectly determined the price of tyres in the market, says report
Omkeshwar Singh, Head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries.
Omkeshwar Singh, Head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries.
Omkeshwar Singh, Head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries.
Stars glitter at SRK's Diwali party!
The usual hugging and handshaking between the leaders after the conclusion of the oath-taking ceremony were missing as leaders preferred to greet each other with folded hands.
The women stole the show at the Dadasaheb Phalke Excellence awards.
Omkeshwar Singh, head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries.
Billionaire Gautam Adani's son Karan will helm the cement firms his group has acquired to become India's second largest cement player and extend his burgeoning empire that spans from ports and energy to airports and telecom.
Omkeshwar Singh, Head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries.
While UltraTech Cement has been the biggest value creator adding nearly Rs 99,000 crore to its market capitalisation, Grasim Industries has added around Rs 27,000 crore to its market cap.
Shashi Tharoor has also been retained as the chairman of the panel on Information Technology.
