Information
Authorities tax aid might open the door for Thought to search out contemporary funding
Vodafone Thought might lastly be primed for ‘revival’ following the federal government’s adjusted gross income (AGR) aid, based on chairman of Aditya Birla Group, Kumar Mangalam Birla.
Aditya Birla Group at present owns a roughly 9.5% stake in Vodafone Thought.
“For the primary time in years, the fog has cleared, permitting the enterprise to look past survival and deal with sustainable development,” wrote Birla in a just lately revealed ‘Annual Reflections’ notice.
“A wholesome, aggressive telecom trade is crucial to India’s digital future. India deserves 3 personal telecom gamers. India deserves a profitable Vodafone Thought. And that is, as soon as once more, an thought whose time has come,” he added.
On December 31, 2025, the Indian authorities introduced that it had frozen Vodafone Thought’s adjusted gross income (AGR) dues at ₹87,695 crore (~$9.5 billion), following a ruling by the Supreme Courtroom.
The choice means Thought should repay repay simply ₹124 crore (~$135 million) per yr for the following six years, with additional repayments then staggered till 2042.
The federal government can be reviewing the whole owed by Thought, suggesting it might but be decreased.
The choice not solely has large implications for Thought’s long-term survival, but additionally for its fast money move, eradicating a ₹16,400 crore (~$1.78 billion) fee beforehand due in March 2026.
Vodafone Thought has been struggling to compete below the load of AGR repayments since they have been first introduced in 2019. At the moment, revised taxes meant the gamers throughout the telecoms sector owed roughly a mixed $11 billion mixed, with Vodafone Thought’s debt the lion’s share.
India’s largest telco, Reliance Jio – then nonetheless a relative newcomer to the market – paid off its AGR dues shortly, leaving Thought and rival Bharti Airtel to start a years-long saga to have the debt reassessed and deferred.
Airtel continued to develop within the years that adopted, however Thought was primarily crippled, seeing income slide and a gradual decline in subscribers because it struggled with money move. It additionally notably hindered the corporate’s 5G launch; Thought launched 5G in 2025, roughly three years after Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel.
Lastly, final yr, after years of Thought failing to search out further funding to pay its money owed, the Indian authorities transformed a portion of its debt into fairness, turning into Vodafone Thought’s largest stakeholder.
Now, with long-term tax aid secured and the fast liquidity disaster over, Thought might lastly be capable of search contemporary exterior funding and plot a path to sustainable development.
Naturally, that is nice information for Thought – and arguably the competitiveness of the Indian telecoms sector at giant. Nevertheless, Thought’s rivals, Bharti Airtel and Tata Group, are pissed off, arguing that they too ought to obtain equitable debt aid from the federal government. They’ve even threatened to not pay the most recent tranche of repayments.
Their please look like falling on deaf ears, nonetheless, with Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia saying the businesses should first obtain a directive from the Supreme Courtroom and mustn’t strategy the federal government immediately.
Airtel and Tata owe round ₹48,103 crore ($5.24 billion) and ₹19,259 crore ($2.1 billion), respectively, with repayments due in March.
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