Airtel seeks equity conversion for ₹40,000 crore govt dues

Telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia recently said the Centre is not considering any fresh relief for the sector

- Jatin Grover

Bharti Airtel Ltd, India's second-largest telecom operator, has urged the department of telecommunications to convert its adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues into equity, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

The company owes the government about ₹52,000 crore towards spectrum dues and ₹40,000 crore in terms of adjusted gross revenue dues. In the telecom sector, there are certain regulatory payments that an operator has to make to the government for licence, etc., as a percentage of their AGR. Spectrum purchase payment is additional.

The proposal is largely to convert about ₹40,000 crore in AGR dues into equity. At Thursday's closing share price of ₹1,846 on the National Stock Exchange, this would give the government a nearly 3.5% stake in the company subject to clearance, the first of the two officials said, both of whom spoke on condition of anonymity.

Queries emailed to Bharti Airtel did not elicit any response till press time.