Shares of Bharti Airtel Ltd. gained 7 per cent to Rs. 555, a biggest single-day gain since May, while Vodafone Idea Ltd. hit a lower circuit of 20 per cent after the Supreme Court granted telecom operators 10 years to pay thousands of crores worth of pending dues. The apex court said telcos should pay 10 per cent of the AGR-related dues by March 31, 2021. It further added that every year by February 7 a payment has to be made. The chairmen of the telecom companies will have to give undertakings for payments, according to an order by the three-judge panel headed by Justice Arun Mishra. Default on payment instalments will invite interest, penalty and contempt of court. According to the DoT’s calculations, Bharti Airtel owes the exchequer Rs 43,780 crore, of which the company has paid Rs 18,004 crore. Vodafone Idea has paid Rs 7,854 crore of its Rs 50,399 crore dues.Market experts think the ruling will certainly put pressure on Vodafone Idea which owes more than Rs 50,000
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