If Vodafone actually quits, India will be the bigger loser

The govt must take a call at the highest level at the earliest, treating Vodafone's exit call with all the seriousness that it deserves

The last week of October, with all the festivity around, was hardly pleasant for the telecom sector. The Supreme Court verdict on October 24 upholding the government definition of adjusted gross revenue or AGR had hit all telcos, except Reliance Jio. But, for the UK communications major Vodafone, already in the midst of mounting losses in its India unit, it looked like an endgame. The top court order meant Vodafone Idea, the venture in which the UK operator holds 45 per cent stake, had to pay around $4 billion (more than Rs 28,000 crore) in licence fee and spectrum usage