Big-bang reforms in telecom sector: 4-year loan moratorium, 100% FDI

The Centre on September 15 approved the much-awaited relief package for the stressed telecom sector that includes a four-year moratorium on payment of dues by telecom companies and allowing 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) under the automatic route. Announcing the decisions cleared at a Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Information Technology and Communication Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, “The reforms are deep and broad… structural… will bring in change today, tomorrow and in the future. I do not like to put a number on the package as it is revenue-neutral for the government.” He went on to add that the moratorium would not impact the government’s revenue. Incidentally, the government announced the package six weeks after Kumar Mangalam Birla resigned from the post of chairman of Vodafone Idea Limited, which was created following the merger of British telecom giant Vodafone’s India unit and Birla’s Idea Cellular Ltd.