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Context is everything.
Detailed stories on technology startups, business and economic current affairs.
Detailed stories on technology startups, business and economic current affairs.
The loss-making telco may have bought itself some time, but it still has to clear Rs 1.92 lakh crore in dues, roll out 5G services and stem the exodus of customers.
Editor's note: On 7 February, the government of India became the single largest shareholder in loss-making Vodafone Idea when it chose to convert the telco’s penal interest dues into equity. It was an ominous start. The Rs 16,133 crore worth of dues, which fetched it a 33.4% stake, came at Rs 10 a share. This, at a time when the market value was Rs 7.95, meaning a notional loss of Rs 3,309 crore from the get-go. Though the government did not invest a rupee in cash for these shares and will not participate in the day-to-day affairs of the company (or even have a representative on its board), becoming a part owner of Vodafone Idea does qualify as a major departure from its recent actions. The move comes exactly a year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated his Bharatiya Janata Party’s stand that the government “has no business to be in business”. In fact, over the last two years, the government has stepped up efforts to disinvest its stake in the businesses it owned. Air India was privatized, while the Life Insurance …
While the Rs 9,000 crore promoter investment in Q1 brings a measure of reassurance, investors will still have to wait for Jio and retail to work through their challenges.
The country's fighter jet roadmap rests on imported propulsion, leaving its military plans hostage to cost shocks, delays and geopolitics.
Mukesh Ambani wants investors to price Reliance Industries’ IPO-bound telecom arm like a technology business. In reality, Jio’s tech ambitions remain a work in progress.
