IDEA

The shares of telecom major Vodafone Idea (Vi) plunged over 3 percent to trade at Rs 6.92 apiece on May 30. The sharp fall in the share price comes ahead of the telecom major’s earnings announcement, which is scheduled for today. Notably, Vodafone Idea's board is also set to approve a plan for fund raising, the company had informed exchanges. The fund-raising plan, set to be announced by the company, will be kept under active watch, given the elevated dues of the company. Earlier this year, the telecom major had cautioned the government that it cannot operate beyond the ongoing financial year 2026 without its support and may have to go for insolvency. "Without GoI's (Government of India) timely support on AGR, VIL will not be able to operate beyond FY26 as the bank funding discussions will not move forward," VIL CEO Akshaya Moondra wrote in a letter to the DoT secretary. Earlier this year, the firm had announced that the Central government will convert its outstanding spectrum dues into equity shares. VI will issue 3,695 crore equity shares at a price of Rs 10 per share,converting dues to stock worth Rs 36,950 crore and increase government’s stake in the firm to 48.99 percent from 22.6 percent.