The board of Vodafone-Idea (Vi) has appointed Kumar Mangalam Birla as non-executive chairman of the company. In the information given to the stock exchange on May 5, the company said that the current chairman Ravindra Takkar had expressed his desire to step down, which has been accepted. Ravindra Takkar will now remain on the board only in the role of non-executive director. This appointment of Birla has come at a time when the company has received huge financial relief from the government. Recently, the Department of Telecom (DoT) has reduced the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues of Vodafone-Idea by about Rs 20,000 crore. After this news, the company’s shares have increased by about 8%. AGR dues: Decreased from ₹87,695 crore to ₹64,046 crore. In a big relief to Vodafone-Idea, the government has reduced its AGR dues by 27%. Till December last year, this outstanding was Rs 87,695 crore, which has now been reduced to Rs 64,046 crore. A committee of the Telecom Department re-evaluated the calculation of dues, after which this decision was taken. No money will have to be paid for 5 years, recovery will start from 2031. The government has not only reduced the dues but has also given 5 years relief (moratorium) for payment. The new payment schedule is as follows: Stand of Supreme Court and Government This relief comes after the relief package approved by the Cabinet on December 31 and the subsequent order of the Supreme Court. The court had allowed the government to re-assess the interest, penalty and dues. Let us tell you that the Government of India holds 49% stake in Vodafone-Idea, which makes it the largest shareholder of the company. AGR dispute: Legal battle going on since 2019 The AGR dispute started in 2019, when the Supreme Court ordered that telecom companies will have to pay license fees to the government even on non-telecom revenues. At that time, according to government calculations, Vi’s dues were Rs 58,254 crore, while the company was saying it was Rs 21,500 crore. After a long legal process, in 2025, while hearing the curative petition, the court had given the government permission to re-calculate.
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Birla becomes chairman of Vodafone-Idea: Government reduced AGR dues by 27%; Now ₹64,046 crore will have to be paid
