Government officials are talking on Vodafone Idea bailout but no proposal has come to me yet: FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on August 16 that the government officials are talking about the Vodafone Idea bailout plan but no proposal has come to her yet. 

Sitharaman said: "The officials are talking but no proposal has come to me yet.” 

Last week, Zeebiz had reported that a lot of possibilities were unfolding in the telecom sector, especially when the government is planning to bring in a lot of specifications in this sector. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is now taking interest in this. The PMO has asked the Department of Telecom (DoT) to prepare a relief package for the telecom sector. 

The shares of Vodafone Idea dropped by 5.56 per cent to Rs 5.95 on August 16 on the back of the telco posting a net loss of Rs 7,312.9 crore in the fiscal first quarter, compared to Rs 6,985.1 crore in the previous quarter.  

The finance minister also mentioned that the Central Government is unable to give relief on petrol prices due to the interests in oil bonds started by the UPA government. 

She further added: “Interest of Rs 10 thousand crore has to be paid every year on oil bonds. If this money was in our hands, I would have given relief in petrol and diesel.” 

FM on Income Tax portal issues, “In touch with Nandan Nilekani of Infosys. ICAI and 12 tax experts in continuous engagement with Infosys,” she said. 

Revenue secretary monitoring the situation on weekly basis. The Cabinet note is being readied on cryptocurrency. “We are closely monitoring the capex situation,” she said.

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Sitharaman also mentioned that she is meeting with bank chiefs pertaining to implementation on announcements post-second wave. She mentioned that banks' situation has improved considerably. 

FM clarifies the comments by Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal to the retail industry. She said Goyal's remarks were a genuine attempt to give small traders a thought. 

Last week, Goyal flagged concerns about the influence of big online retailers that are adversely impacting small players and asserted that the government is taking steps to ensure that in the long run, consumers get good quality products at affordable prices. 

On Retro Tax, she said the rules on retro tax are to be framed soon. "I will follow the law passed in Parliament on retrospective tax. No communication from the companies on retrospective tax law yet," FM mentioned.