Mittal with Birla met Finance Minister

Bharti Airtel founder Sunil Bharti Mittal and Vodafone Idea chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla had joined hands in seeking some relief from the government. Both Mittal and Birla met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Mittal denied having discussed the AGR issue, and instead said the government should focus on “how to ensure sustainability of the sector”.

Mittal earlier met Department of Telecommunications (DoT) Secretary Anshu Prakash. Birla, accompanied by Vodafone Idea Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Ravinder Takkar, met Prakash. Birla is also learnt to have met Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

On February 14, the Supreme Court, during the hearing of a modification plea moved by telecom and non-telecom companies, said if the firms did not make payments of the pending AGR dues before March 17, the Managing Directors and other Directors of the firms would have to make personal appearance before the court. The apex court then issued show-cause notice to the companies as to why contempt of court should not be initiated against them for failing to comply with orders.