NEW DELHI: Following the relief, measures announced a few months back for the telecom sector, the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) returned around Rs 6,500 crore of bank guarantees (BGs) to Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea.
The amount is part of a relief package in which the government decided to cut bank guarantee requirements against statutory dues such as licensee fees by 80%.
As per the reports, DoT currently holds some Rs 35,000 crore in BGs for Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel, out of which around Rs 13,000 crore are related to sub-judice matters.
As per the industry estimates, the amount of Rs 13,000 crore will have to return to the telcos.
The government, while announcing the relief measures for the telecom industry, had said that the operators would not have to provide any financial instrument to secure the installments of payments for statutory dues. It also cut the existing BG requirements for statutory dues by 80%.
Industry experts believe the move will be very helpful for ailing telcos like Vodafone as it would improve their liquid cash problems. With this amount, Vodafone Idea, which has a ton of debt on its shoulders, will be able to access more loans. Subsequently, it can invest in its 4G network and improve its network better just like its competitors Airtel and Jio.