Time to move on

Telcos should build business plans sans govt relief

The telecom industry is once again engaged with the Union government to seek relief on their dues related to adjusted gross revenues (AGR) after the Supreme Court recently dismissed a curative petition on the matter. Now, telecom-service providers would do well to move on and prepare for a robust future on their own. It's a fact that the telecom industry experienced considerable disruption in the recent past and any relief on its AGR dues would give telcos the room to invest significantly in 4G and 5G services and strengthen their network capacities. It is, however, equally true that every industry goes through ups and downs and the government is not obliged to step in to reduce levies and charges even when companies need the intervention to stay afloat.