Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Aug 13: Outstanding adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues of major telecom service providers stood at Rs 1,40,876.63 crore as of March 31, 2026, with Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL) accounting for nearly half of the total, Parliament was informed on Thursday.
According to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), VIL owed Rs 66,149 crore, followed by the Bharti Group with Rs 41,178.58 crore and the Tata Group with Rs 16,649.77 crore.
MTNL had outstanding AGR dues of Rs 14,870.39 crore, while Reliance Jio Infocom owed Rs 2,028.89 crore. Government-owned BSNL had no outstanding AGR dues as of March 31, 2026, the DoT said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.
Following a Supreme Court mandate, a specialised DoT panel audited the liabilities to correct calculation errors. On April 30, 2026, the government officially reduced Vodafone Idea's frozen AGR dues from an initial Rs 87,695 crore to Rs 64,046 crore.
The government said telecom service providers not undergoing insolvency or liquidation proceedings were offered a moratorium of up to four years for payment of AGR dues up to the financial year 2018-19.
"An option to the licensee to pay the interest amount arising due to the said deferment of payment by way of equity was also provided, while protecting Net Present Value (NPV) subject to compliance with the moratorium's terms and conditions. Bharti Group, Tata Group and Quadrant Televentures opted for the moratorium but did not opt to convert the interest amount into equity," the reply said.
For BSNL, AGR dues up to FY25 were fully settled through equity infusion under the BSNL Revival Package, 2022. The government said MTNL's AGR dues would be realised from proceeds generated through asset monetisation.
The government also clarified that it had not acquired equity in other telecom operators as part of the AGR relief measures.
"Other than Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL), BSNL and MTNL as detailed above, no investment was made or equity stake was acquired by the government in any other Telecom Service Provider on account of relief of AGR dues," the statement added.
Major telecom service providers reported gross revenue of Rs 3.73 lakh crore and AGR of Rs 3.17 lakh crore for the year ended March 2026.
The government noted that the outstanding AGR figures remain subject to revision based on representations submitted by telecom service providers, departmental assessments, audit observations and court cases.