Vodafone Idea and its timeline of woes

• Vodafone Idea was recently hit by a demand of ₹53,000 crore for AGR dues.
• It is staring at liquidation as both Vodafone Pls and Aditya Birla Group have refused to invest any further equity into the telco.
• Since the entry of Jio, Vodafone Idea has posted cumulative losses of ₹77,000 crore, with ₹50,922 crore coming in September 2019 alone.

Vodafone Idea is fighting for its survival even after weathering off the Jio juggernaut over the last few years. Hit by a demand of ₹53,000 crore for the repayment of adjusted gross revenue dues, Vodafone CEO Nick Read that its Indian entity could be liquidated if the government does not provide any assistance.

Essentially, the future looks dire for Vodafone Idea. Vodafone has written down the book value of its Indian business to nil, sparking speculation that the second biggest telco in India could wind up soon. In November 2019 alone, 36 million Vodafone Idea subscribers migrated out to other networks.

But Vodafone Idea has more than just Jio to blame. It has stopped competing with Airtel and Jio when it comes to offering new features like eSIM, VoWiFi and more.

Here is a quick look at Vodafone Idea troubles since the entry of Jio in the Indian telecom industry.