Panel May Favour More Time For Telecom Firms To Make Spectrum Payment: Official
New Delhi: An inter-ministerial group, set up to look into the financial stress in the telecom sector, may suggest extending the timeline for deferred spectrum payment by telecom companies. This was among the proposals on which the panel reached a "consensus", an official said. The drafting of report will take a day or two and the panel will "try" to meet this week again. "The IMG will attempt to finalise its report by August 27. There is consensus on various issues, including increasing the time for deferred spectrum payment and shifting from PLR (prime lending rate) to MCLR (marginal cost of funds-based lending rate) for interest and penalty payments with regard to licence fee and spectrum charges," the member of the inter-ministerial group said.
The inter-ministerial group, constituted to suggest measures to ease the financial stress in the telecom sector, held its meeting here on Tuesday.
The Telecom Commission is slated to meet on September 1 and the inter-ministerial group report could be placed before the Commission during that meeting.
The inter-ministerial group, which comprises senior officials from the ministries of finance and communications, last met on August 11 and deliberated on various proposals that can be taken to address the financial woes of the industry.
The inter-ministerial panel is learnt to be favourably considering measures, including increasing period of deferred spectrum payment to 16 years, a proposal that would improve the cash flow of telecom companies.
At the last meeting, some members felt that large-scale policy intervention may not be required as green shoots have become visible in the sector during the first quarter.
Currently, a portion of spectrum auction amount is taken as upfront payment by the Department of Telecom (DoT) and the balance after a two-year moratorium is paid out every year in 10 instalments.
There are indications that the telecom companies could be given 16 years instead of 10 years for such deferred spectrum payment.
The other proposals being discussed include convergence between DoT and RBI (Reserve Bank of India) guidelines on the issue of allowing spectrum as collateral.
The inter-ministerial group is also considering a proposal to shift from PLR to MCLR for interest and penalty payments, pertaining to licence fee and spectrum usage charges.
The inter-ministerial group, in June, had held extensive discussions with all telecom players and large banks on the industry's financial difficulties.
Established telecom operators have been flagging pressure on profitability and revenue, and have blamed competition intensified by the entry of Reliance Jio for their woes. The industry has a debt of over Rs 4.6 lakh crore and has been seeking sops to overcome the crisis.
-
Opinion | India at 38: From Innovation Overperformer to Innovation Powerhouse
India now has 453 VC-backed deep science startups, 18 of them late-stage, after 117 percent growth since 2020. Laurus Labs, at USD 9.3 billion, is the most valuable deep science company in any middle-income economy outside China.
-
Navigating Energy Crossroads: S Jaishankar's Call For Diversified Supply Chains At G20 Ministerial Meeting
As geopolitical fault lines continue to test maritime trade routes and commodity flows, Jaishankar's message remains pertinent: true economic resilience requires open markets, protected transit lines, and a genuine commitment to multilateral cooperation rather than coercion.
-
Indians Are Travelling, But Not Every Journey Is A Holiday | The Week In Whys
Pilgrims, patients and working women are the real travellers, and the system hasn't quite caught up with them.
-
Getting To Work Costs Women More | The Reason Why
It is not just about women paying more than men. It is about women paying much more in cities than in villages.
-
AI Bias In Investing Cannot Be Eliminated, But It Can Be Governed
Framing is a particularly important example as identical financial information presented in terms of gains rather than losses can lead an LLM to reach a different assessment.
-
Joining The Dots | Dark Skies, Steady Diya: Why Hope Holds This Diwali
With war, a weak rupee and foreign outflows weighing on sentiment, policymakers at the NDTV World Summit and market veterans at NDTV Profit Ignite: Diwali Edition offered the same advice: stay invested and filter out the noise.
-
The Curious Case of Equitas Small Finance Bank And A CEO Who Quit For Stock
PN Vasudevan believes persistent investor concerns over a perceived conflict of interest had become a governance overhang on Equitas Small Finance Bank's stock, even as the lender improved profitability and asset quality.
-
Talking Points This Week: AI Cash Burn, A Tiger Comeback And An India That Still Finds Its Own Path
India is not immune to higher oil or tighter global liquidity, yet its earnings base is broader, its domestic policy levers are still available.
-
Foreign Investors Own Half Of HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank. An LTCG Cut Could Matter Most Here
Foreign portfolio investors have US$115 billion parked in HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank. If the government cuts long-term capital gains tax, Jefferies says returning foreign money could land here first.
