New Delhi, January 16, 2026, 20:18 IST
- Bharti Airtel and Tata group telecom companies are considering a joint request for leniency on AGR dues following Vodafone Idea’s eased repayment terms
- India’s telecom department is set to begin reassessing Vodafone Idea’s dues following a formal undertaking, revisiting records spanning 11 years
- Operators now confront long-overdue payments from March, intensifying pressure on policy decisions and competition
Bharti Airtel and two Tata group telecom firms are mulling a joint appeal to the Indian government for AGR liability relief, aiming to match the major payment break recently extended to Vodafone Idea, The Economic Times reported.
The timing couldn’t be worse. The four-year pause on AGR payments is coming to an end, and operators who put off their dues now have to begin instalments starting in March.
This is crucial now as telecom cash flows are being reshaped by policy rather than pricing. Any broader relief could shift how much funding operators can allocate to networks and how aggressively they need to push tariffs.
Airtel is staring down AGR liabilities near 48,103 crore rupees, according to Business Standard. Tata Teleservices and Tata Teleservices Maharashtra jointly owe roughly 19,259 crore rupees. Both companies are expected to start repayments in March, the report added. 1
AGR forms the revenue base for licence fees and spectrum usage charges paid to the government. Operators have long contested its definition, with dues swelling significantly due to added interest and penalties.
The Department of Telecommunications plans to begin reassessing Vodafone Idea’s AGR dues next week, according to industry publication Tele.net, but only after the company submits a written undertaking accepting the outcome. The review will cover about 11 years of filings and audit records, the report added. 2
The reassessment comes after the government approved a repayment plan that limits Vodafone Idea’s annual AGR payments to around 1.24 billion rupees from March 2026 through March 2031. After that, payments drop to 1 billion rupees a year until March 2035, with the balance spread out between 2036 and 2041, Reuters reported earlier this month. Analyst Vinit Bolinjkar of Ventura Securities told Reuters that the “ease of life” from the schedule, combined with “government backing,” improves the company’s chances of survival. 3
Airtel and the Tata companies are pushing for comparable terms as payment resumptions approach. Neither Airtel nor Tata Teleservices replied to local media inquiries.
Airtel shares slipped slightly on Friday, with Vodafone Idea dropping more steeply, according to MarketWatch data. 4
Vodafone Idea’s extended runway also tightens the competitive squeeze. “Vodafone would need to raise a fresh equity fund… to ramp up its capex,” said Piyush Pandey, senior analyst at Centrum India, highlighting the gap with Reliance Jio and Airtel, told Light Reading. 5
Still, achieving parity isn’t assured. Investors were let down before when India chose a moratorium over a waiver for Vodafone Idea, and the Supreme Court has made clear that any additional relief is a matter for government policy, not a guaranteed right competitors can claim. 6
Repayment deadlines are fast approaching, and with Vodafone Idea’s reassessment set to begin, the real question is whether New Delhi will extend relief beyond this single case. Will it overhaul legacy dues across the board, or stick to a tighter approach, insisting stronger firms meet their obligations promptly?
