Call on Vi relief after talks with PM, cabinet, FinMin: Minister

A decision on whether to provide additional relief to troubled telecom operator Vodafone Idea will be taken after discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Union Cabinet and the finance ministry, minister of state for communications Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani told Mint on Monday.

- Jatin Grover

The minister said since the amount in question was substantial, any decision on providing relief would be collective.

"At this time, there is nothing that we have planned (on providing relief),"" the minister said, adding that the government had already converted a lot of the company's debt into equity. The government owns a 49% stake in the beleaguered telecom operator, which has said it may not survive beyond the current financial year.

On Friday, Mint reported that the department of telecommunications (DoT) had proposed "multiple relief options" for the company to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) last month.