Telecom shares gain as Cabinet approves relief package

Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications were trading higher in the range of 1% to 2% on the BSE at 09.36 am.

Shares of telecom service providers were trading higher by up to 5% on the BSE in early morning trade after the government cleared a relief package for the debt-ridden sector, giving more time to operators to pay for the spectrum bought in auctions.

At 09:36 am; Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications were trading higher in the range of 1% to 2% on the BSE. These stocks have surged by upto 5% on the BSE in early morning trade. On comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 0.62% at 33,239 points.

The Cabinet has approved the two key measures to facilitate investments and consolidation in the sector, facing Rs 4.6 trillion debt, the PTI report suggested quoting an official spokesperson.

These include restructuring of deferred payment liabilities of telecom service providers for spectrum and revision of limit of spectrum holding caps.

These measures are expected to increase the cash flow for telecom operators immediately, providing them some relief, added report.