Telcos likely to opt for three-month moratorium to avoid cash crunch during lockdown: COAI

30 Mar 2020 Evaluate

Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) Director General Rajan S Mathews has said that debt-ridden telecom operators (Telcos) are likely to opt for three-month moratorium to avoid cash crunch in the wake of the nationwide lockdown to arrest the spread of Covid-19. He also said the telecom operators have spoken in favour of increasing mobile call and internet rates at the earliest, however they will keep the prices stable during the lockdown period.

Mathews has stated that there is debt of around Rs 1.6-2 lakh crore that telecom operators owe to Indian banks. He said they will opt three-month moratorium in loan repayment to help them maintain cash flow. He also said that COAI allayed fear of hike in tariff by the telecom operators. He added telecom companies understand market situation and they will give tariff stable for now.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed banks to put on hold equity monthly installment (EMI) payments on all term loans for three months, slashed the cost of fresh borrowing by cutting policy interest rate by steepest in more than 11 years and infused a massive Rs 3.74 lakh crore liquidity as it joined the government effort to buffer the economy from the consequences of Covid-19 pandemic. 


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