Vodafone Idea, one of the biggest telecom players in India has made another payment of Rs. 1,000 crore towards the AGR Dues to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) according to a leading Indian news agency which quotes a senior official. This payment comes in addition to the payment made by Vodafone Idea on Monday of Rs. 2,500 crore.
In total, according to DoT, Vodafone Idea owes Rs. 53,000 crore in penalties, spectrum charges, interest, and interest on penalties. Vodafone Idea’s payments to the government comes as the Department of Telecommunication sent a notice to the telecos over the last weekend directing them to make the payment or “necessary action” will be taken.
On Friday, Airtel paid Rs. 10,000 crore to DoT towards its own dues.
Last week, the government directed the telecos to make payment of their dues immediately after the Supreme Court of India told the companies and the government that a case of Contempt of Court will be registered against them.
Also Read: Supreme Court Scolds Government And Telecos After Not A Single Paisa Was Paid In Dues
Market Analysts say that out of the biggest telecom companies in India, Vodafone Idea is the most susceptible and if the company shuts its doors in India, the market will become more of a Duopoly where Bharti Airtel and Mukesh Ambani’s Jio will be the only 2 major players in the sector.
DoT says that in the next couple of days, a notice will be sent to the Tata Teleservices asking them to make the payment of their dues in full. Tata Group, too, made payment for their dues on Monday, and paid Rs. 2,197 crore out of the total amount of over Rs. 14,000 crore.
