Vodafone Idea will shut shop if govt does not give more relief, says Kumar Mangalam Birla

New Delhi: Vodafone Idea Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla on Friday (December 6) reiterated that the telco may have to down shutters if the telecom joint venture does not get more government support. Last month, the government had granted a two-year moratorium on spectrum payments to telecom operators, giving a much-needed relief on near-term cash flow, especially to Vodafone Idea.

To recap, on October 24 this year, the Supreme Court had directed telecom companies to pay at least Rs 92,000 crore in past dues to the government within three months.

Vodafone Idea last month announced new plans under which call and data charges will be higher for its prepaid customers by up to 41.2 per cent from December 3.