Airtel ready to pay AGR-linked statutory dues but seeks parity in relief

Bharti Airtel Ltd on Wednesday said that it can make all necessary adjusted gross revenue (AGR)-related payments even as it expects the government to extend it the same relief as any other telecom operator, in an indirect reference to the distressed Vodafone Idea, whose spectrum dues were converted into equity.

“We have written to the government to extend the same relief as any other telco but that is a decision that the government will take and we will abide by whatever decision they take,” the company’s vice-chairman and managing director Gopal Vittal said on an analyst call following the June-quarter results.