The shares of Vodafone Idea (Vi) closed over 7 percent higher at Rs 7.02 apiece on August 22 after a report said that the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is set to take a call on a relief proposal for the telecom major. The shares of the company were trading at Rs 7.13 apiece in the afternoon.

Earlier during the day, the stock had rallied nearly 12 percent to hit an intraday high of Rs 7.31 apiece.

PMO had received an informal note from the Department of Telecommunication (DoT), proposing multiple relief options for the debt-ridden telecom company, Mint reported citing people familiar with the matter. These options include another two-year pause on paying the statutory dues under moratorium currently. The PMO will take the decision on whether these relief measures are to be extended, the report cited a source as saying.

DoT has also proposed to give Vodafone Idea more time to repay dues, smaller annual payouts, and a waiver on penalties and interest penalties on AGR payment, the report added.

Vodafone Idea has been struggling with dues, owing about Rs 83,400 crore in adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues, with annual payments of nearly Rs 18,000 crore scheduled from March 2025. Its overall dues to the government stand at around Rs 2 trillion including penalty and interest, Mint said.

The debt-laden operator has repeatedly warned it cannot survive without funding support, as banks remain wary of lending given its financial stress. Vi employs over 18,000 people and has nearly 198 million subscribers.

Telecom service provider Vodafone Idea (Vi) is exploring non-bank avenues to fund its capital expenditure plans, as negotiations with lenders remain stalled due to uncertainty over adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues, outgoing CEO Akshaya Moondra said on August 18 during the June quarter earnings call.

Vi has also formally urged the government to settle the AGR matter ahead of the March 2026 deadline, which Moondra said would help reassure banks and unlock financing support.

"Given the fact that we are keen on maintaining a continuity of our capex, which has been going on since last year, we are looking at non-banking sources of funding, also not the full amount of Rs 25,000 crore that we have talked about, but a lesser amount so that we can continue with the capex cycle," Moondra said.