Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Vodafone CEO meets Indian minister to keep company afloat

VODAFONE GROUP chief executive officer (CEO) Nick Read on Friday (6) met Indian communications minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to discuss relief options to keep the company afloat in the south Asian country.

The chief of the London based telecommunications (telecom) group met the Indian officials after the country’s top court mandated dues pushing company’s Indian joint venture Vodafone Idea to the brink.


The meeting assumes significance as Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL), where the British telecom giant holds just over 45 per cent stake, is staring at Rs 530 billion or £5.49bn in unpaid statutory dues, having paid only Rs 35bn in two tranches so far.

VIL has said its self assessment pegs Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) liabilities at Rs 215bn, which is just 41 per cent of what the government has estimated.

After the over half an hour meeting with Prasad, Read refused to comment on whether the British telecom giant will exit India, saying "no comments".

Read also met finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman earlier in the day.

Telecom companies, including Vodafone, in India are desperately waiting for a bailout package from the government after a Supreme Court order put their statutory liabilities at Rs 1.47 trillion, and all eyes have been on country’s department of telecommunication (DoT) for the much-needed breather to fix the AGR imbroglio.

VIL recently told the government that it would not be able to pay the full dues unless state support is extended to survive the crisis.

It had made a strong plea for setting off Rs 80bn of Goods and Service Tax (GST) credits, a three-year moratorium on payment of the remaining amount, which should be staggered over 15 years at a simple interest rate of six per cent, drastic cut in licence fee and fixing of a minimum price of calls and data.

The intensity of crisis being faced by VIL can be gauged from the fact that Vodafone Idea chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla has held multiple rounds discussions at the telecom ministry and finance ministry over last few weeks to look for a solution to keep the telecom operations on track.

In December, Birla had said VIL may have to shut if there is no relief on the statutory dues. Even Vodafone CEO Read recently made it clear that the situation in India is critical, following the AGR ruling of the Supreme Court.

More For You

UK-Bahrain-deal-Getty

Prime minister Keir Starmer with Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa of Bahrain ahead of bilateral talks at 10 Downing Street on June 19, 2025 in London. (Photo: Getty Images)

UK-Bahrain £2bn Investment Deal: All you need to know

THE UK and Bahrain have signed a £2 billion investment and collaboration partnership aimed at supporting key sectors of the UK economy, including financial services, technology, manufacturing, and clean energy.

The Strategic Investment and Collaboration Partnership (SIP), announced on June 19, doubles the £1 bn investment committed in 2023.

Keep ReadingShow less
Octopus Energy Unveils Smart Home EV Charger to Slash Charging Costs

It follows a broader strategy by Octopus Energy to offer home energy hardware

Getty Images

Octopus Energy unveils first smart home EV charger to cut charging costs

Octopus Energy, the UK’s largest electricity supplier, has launched its first home electric vehicle (EV) charger, named Octopus Charge. The charger is designed to integrate with the company’s smart energy system to enable cost-effective and environmentally friendly charging.

Smart charging through Kraken platform

The new Octopus Charge device connects to the energy supplier’s proprietary Kraken platform, which automatically adjusts charging to coincide with times when electricity is cheapest and greenest. This enables EV owners to take advantage of lower rates and reduce their carbon footprint.

Keep ReadingShow less
Record-breaking data breach

The data is spread across 30 different datasets

iStock

Record-breaking data breach exposes 16 billion credentials, raising global cybersecurity concerns

A massive new cybersecurity report has revealed what experts are calling the largest data breach in history, involving over 16 billion login credentials. The records, uncovered by researchers at Cybernews, appear to come from a variety of sources and have raised alarm bells across the tech and cybersecurity industries.

Unprecedented scale of exposure

The data is spread across 30 different datasets, with individual troves containing between tens of millions and more than 3.5 billion credentials each. In total, the exposed records add up to 16 billion, a staggering number that equates to more than two credentials for every person on Earth.

Keep ReadingShow less
leaders discussed the new Defence Cooperation Accord between the UK and Bahrain,

The leaders discussed the new Defence Cooperation Accord between the UK and Bahrain, aimed at deepening joint military training and naval ties.

Crown Prince of Bahrain's website

UK and Bahrain strengthen defence and investment ties

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer met Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, prime minister of Bahrain, at Downing Street on Thursday.

A Downing Street spokesperson said the leaders discussed the UK-Bahrain relationship and welcomed the UK becoming a full member of the Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement (C-SIPA), a trilateral pact with Bahrain and the United States focused on regional security.

Keep ReadingShow less
Swiss banks

Funds held in customer accounts by Indian clients rose by 11 per cent in the year to 346 million Swiss francs (£3.14m) and accounted for about one-tenth of overall funds.

iStock

Indian funds in Swiss banks triple to £3.1bn in 2024

INDIAN money in Swiss banks more than trebled in 2024 to 3.5 billion Swiss francs (£3.1bn), attributed to a rise in funds held through local branches and other financial institutions, annual data released by Switzerland's central bank showed on Thursday (19).

However, funds held in customer accounts by Indian clients rose by 11 per cent in the year to 346 million Swiss francs (£3.14m) and accounted for about one-tenth of overall funds, the report showed.

Keep ReadingShow less