Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday has approved a four-year moratorium on payment of the spectrum dues by telecom companies as part of a relief package for the struggling sectors, Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishaw announced.
He also said the government has decided to allow cent percent FDI in the sector.
The move is aimed at providing relief to telecom majors like Vodafone-Idea and Bharti Airtel which have to pay thousands of crores in un-provisioned past statutory dues. On August 4, Kumar Mangalam Birla had resigned as Chairman of Vodafone-Idea (VI) on this matter.
About the fresh decisions for the telecom sector, Vaishnaw said the government has decided to rationalize the definition of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) from which non-telecom revenue will be removed, giving major relief to the companies.
Praising the employees of the telecom sector for contributing during the pandemic amid the sudden rise of telecom traffic, the minister said the government has approved nine structural reforms in the sector.
The Cabinet has allowed 100 percent Foreign Direct Investment(FDI) in the telecom sector with safeguards through the automatic route, he said, adding these measures are expected to ease the cash flow concerns being faced by some players in the industry.
The Union Cabinet also approved the revised Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for automobile and drone sectors, worth Rs.26,058 crore, said Union Minister Anurag Thakur.
It will have a provision of Rs. 26,058 crore, of which Rs 25,929 crore will be for the auto sector and Rs 120 crore for the drone industry, he said.
The incentives worth Rs 26,058 crore will be provided to the industry over the next five years, he said, adding that the government estimates that by then PLI scheme for the automobile and auto components industry will lead to a fresh investment of over Rs. 42,500 crore, an incremental production of over Rs.2.3 lakh crore and create additional employment opportunities of more than 7.5 lakh jobs.
The PLI scheme for auto and drone industries is part of the overall announcement of PLI schemes for 13 sectors made earlier during the Budget 2021-22, with an outlay of Rs 1.97 lakh crore.