Uncertain call remains for Vodafone Idea despite govt's relief package

The telecom relief package has offered the ailing telecom service provider only a breather; it will have to earn its way to the longer-term policy benefits

To save Vodafone Idea, the government’s challenge was to determine how much fiscal risk it was willing to absorb. This was why the telecom package was delayed by a week; the Department of Telecom­munications (DoT) and the Ministry of Finance (MoF) argued over this point. The decision went down to the wire pretty late on Tuesday night before the Cabinet met on Wednesday morning to approve the package of nine reforms for the sector, five procedural changes plus four relief measures.

As the package announced by telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw shows, the government has taken little fiscal risk except for