Govt panel for sops to ease financial stress in telecom sector

IMG is looking at cutting the interest on deferred payments from 12% PLR to 8% MCLR

The inter-ministerial group (IMG) set up to address the financial stress in the telecom sector has prepared a draft report recommending steps to benefit the industry, according to sources. It is learnt that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley reviewed the report last week.  

Extending the deferred payment schedule to 16 years, cut in interest rates and converting the PLR (prime lending rate) into the MCLR (marginal cost of funds-based lending rate) are among the measures being considered by the IMG, which has seven members including officials from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the finance ministry.

The telecom operators’ plea