Parliament Question: AGR dues of Vodafone-Idea

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 746 TO BE ANSWERED ON 4TH FEBRUARY, 2026 AGR DUES OF VODAFONE-IDEA

746. SHRI MATHESWARAN V S:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has frozen AGR dues of Vodafone-Idea (Vi) at Rs. 87,695 crore and if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether it is a fact that Department of Telecommunications has formed a committee to reassess the AGR dues and if so, the details of the same and composition thereof and expected timeline fixed for the company;

(c) the details of showing AGR dues pending with Telecom in a tabulated chart, Operator-wise; and

(d) the details of equity shares owned by the Government in Telecom companies, Company- wise? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT (DR. PEMMASANI CHANDRA SEKHAR)

(a) & (b) In pursuance of the orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Writ Petition (Civil) No.

882/2025 and the representation submitted by Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL) seeking relief in accordance with the directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, the Government has decided to freeze the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues of VIL pertaining to the period from FY 2006–07 to FY 2018–19 at ₹87,695 crore as on 31st December, 2025. This amount excludes those AGR dues of FY 2017–18 and FY 2018–19 which stand finalised by the Hon’ble Supreme Court vide order dated

01.09.2020 in MA (D) 9887 of 2020 and shall be payable in accordance with the said order.

The AGR dues frozen as on 31.12.2025 shall also be subject to reassessment by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in accordance with the Deduction Verification Guidelines dated 03.02.2020 and audit reports not acted upon. A Committee has been constituted by DoT on

30.01.2026 to decide on the outcome of such reassessment by DoT. The Committee comprises of a retired Secretary-level officer of the Government of India and a representative of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), as nominated by the CAG. The Committee shall finalise the outcome of the reassessment within a period of two months, unless extended. The decision of the committee shall be final, binding on both parties (DoT and VIL).

(c) The details of pending AGR dues of major telecom companies are placed at Annexure I.

(d) The details of equity shares owned by the government directly in telecom companies providing telecom services are placed at Annexure II.

1Annexure I Annexure I to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 746 to be answered on 04.02.2026.

Details of AGR dues of Major Telecom companies with interest updated up to 31.12.2025 (Amount in ₹ Crores) Sl. No. Name of the company AGR dues up to FY 2024-25 1 Bharti Group (Airtel and Hexacom) 51091 2 Tata Group (TTSL & TTML) 20426 3 Vodafone Idea Limited 89952 4 Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited 1984 5 MTNL 14462 Total 177915

Note:

1. AGR dues include License Fee (LF) and Spectrum Usage Charges (SUC).

2. The dues shown in the table pertain to major telecom companies, for the period from FY 2006- 07 to FY 2024-25, excluding those that are undergoing insolvency or liquidation proceedings.

3. The dues pertaining to FY 2019-20 and subsequent years are under litigation and included in above table.

4. In the case of Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL), the AGR dues pertaining to the period from FY 2006–07 to FY 2018–19, excluding those AGR dues of FY 2017–18 and FY 2018–19 which stand finalised by the Hon’ble Supreme Court vide order dated 01.09.2020 in MA (D) 9887 of 2020, have been frozen at ₹87,695 crore as on 31.12.2025, subject to reassessment.

5. For others, AGR dues other than those finalised by the Hon’ble Supreme Court vide order dated 01.09.2020 are subject to revision, as applicable, based on representations from Telecom Service Providers (TSPs), departmental assessment, CAG / special audits and pending court cases.

2Annexure II Annexure- II to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 746 to be answered on 04.02.2026.

List of Telecom companies providing telecom services, in which Government currently holds equity stakes directly Name of Company Details of Government equity stake 100% Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL)

56.25 % Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL) 49 % ***** 3