Exploring options on converting dues: Airtel

Bharti Airtel Ltd's proposal to the government on converting its revenue-linked dues into equity was only intended to explore if such an option was available, vice chairman and managing director Gopal Vittal said on Wednesday, adding that a decision will be taken by the company's board after getting clarification from the government.

- Jatin Grover

"We just wanted a non-discriminatory level-playing field in terms of an option to convert," Vittal said. "Whether we will convert or not is a decision for the board to take... We wanted a clarification from the government whether we had the option or not."

Speaking at an analyst call to discuss Airtel's March-quarter earnings, Vittal also dwelt on the company's decision to remove subsidies on direct-to-home (DTH) set-top boxes, its plans for satellite communications with Starlink, and for growing its enterprise business. He also repeated his call for restructuring mobile tariffs for improving the industry's financial health.

Last month, Airtel urged the department of telecommunications (DoT) to convert its AGR (adjusted gross revenue) dues of about 40,000 crore into equity, which would give the government a 3-4% stake in India's second-largest telecom operator.