Government gets Rs 25,900 crores in AGR dues

New Delhi: The government has received part payment of about Rs 25,900 crore from telecom operators towards statutory dues and has again directed telcos to make full payments, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

"The Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) have made some payments in compliance with the Supreme Court order dated October 24, 2019," Minister of State for Communications Sanjay Dhotre said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

The minister said the government has "again" directed the operators to make full payments in a letter dated March 4, 2020.

"The government has directed all TSPs to make the payments in accordance with the order of the Hon'ble Supreme Court dated October 24, 2019 vide letters dated November 13, 2019, January 20, 2020 and February 14, 2020," he said.

Dhotre informed the House that so far, Bharti Airtel has paid Rs 18,004 crore and Vodafone Idea has shelled out Rs 3,500 crore.

Tata Teleservices has paid about Rs 4,197 crore, while Rs 3.9 crore has been received from Reliance Communications. Reliance Jio has paid about Rs 195 crore.