India’s telecom AGR dues hit ₹1.77 lakh crore, Vodafone Idea accounts for over half; Who owes how much?

India’s major telecom operators owed the government a total of ₹1.77 lakh crore in adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues, including interest, up to FY2024-25, according to official data shared with Parliament.

In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Communications Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar said that the total liability on debt-ridden Vodafone Idea (Vi) stands at ₹89,952 crore.

The data shows that Bharti Group owed ₹51,091 crore, Tata Group firms ₹20,426 crore, Reliance Jio Infocomm ₹1,984 crore, and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) ₹14,462 crore.

The dues, which include licence fee and spectrum usage charges, pertain to the period from FY2006-07 to FY2024-25 and exclude companies undergoing insolvency or liquidation proceedings.

AGR liabilities for FY2019-20 and subsequent years are under litigation but have been included in the total, the government said.

The government has frozen Vodafone Idea’s AGR dues for the period from FY2006-07 to FY2018-19 at ₹87,695 crore as on December 31, 2025, in line with directions of the Supreme Court of India.

However, dues for FY2017-18 and FY2018-19 that were finalised under a September 2020 court order will remain payable as per the ruling.

The frozen amount will also be subject to reassessment by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) based on deduction verification guidelines and audit reports.

A committee constituted on January 30, 2026 will finalise the reassessment within two months.

“The Committee comprises 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 official statement shared with Parliament said.

"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)," it added.

Vodafone Idea recently informed exchanges that under the relief framework, it will pay a maximum of ₹124 crore annually for six years from March 2026 to March 2031, followed by ₹100 crore annually for four years from March 2032 to March 2035.

The remaining AGR dues, including any reassessed amount, will be repaid in equal annual instalments between March 2036 and March 2041.

The relief is expected to ease near-term repayment pressure on the telecom operator, which has been grappling with a heavy debt burden and funding constraints. Vodafone Idea had earlier warned that it could face insolvency by FY26 without further government support.

The government also informed Parliament that it currently holds direct equity stakes of 49% in Vodafone Idea, 56.25% in MTNL, and 100% in Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited.