MUMBAI: In an exchange filing, the board of directors of  Vodafone Idea Ltd (Vi) has said that it has accepted the request of Kumar Mangalam Birla to step down as non-executive director and non-executive chairman of the board with effect from Wednesday.

The filing also says that Birla will be replaced by Himanshu Kapania, currently a non-executive director on the board of Vi. Mr Kapania is a nominee of the Aditya Birla Group on the Vi board.

"The Board of Directors of Vodafone Idea Limited, at its meeting held today, have accepted the request of Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla to step down as Non-Executive Director and Non-Executive Chairman of the Board with effect from close of business hours on 4th August 2021,” Vi said in the BSE filing on Wednesday, August 4, 2021.

Birla’s resignation from these roles comes only days after it was reported that he had on June 7 written to the government offering to “hand over” his 27 per cent stake in the company to any public sector, government or domestic financial entity or to any other firm that the government may think fit in order to keep Vi going. 

In a letter to Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, Birla had said that he would be more than happy to work with the government to explore all possible options to save the company. Vi owed nearly Rs 60,000 crore to the DoT as AGR, Rs 96,270 crore in deferred spectrum obligations and another Rs 23,000 crore to banks and financial institutions. 

With Vodafone Idea’s survival at stake, the telecom sector appears to be headed for a duopoly, a situation that will not only crimp choices for consumers but can also lead to sharp tariff hikes. Policy flip-flops, adverse court decisions, high spectrum prices and licence fees have pushed the once vibrant industry into a graveyard for companies.