Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal on Monday said that the telecom industry has been making investments notwithstanding low returns and it is now time for the government to attend to the issues faced by the sector, including the continuing high taxes. "The taxes on this industry remain high. For every Rs 100 of revenue, Rs 35 go in various forms of levies. We expect that as we step up and do our part, the government will also favorably look at some of the genuine demands of the industry so as to enable a multiplier effect and positive outcome," he said.
Addressing an investor call, Mittal said that the government has also been asking the industry to step up investment in the digital infrastructure and the industry has been also urging the government to attend to some "pressing issues inhibiting continued investments in the sector given the negative to low returns". "5G auctions are expected to take place next year and Airtel, as a leader, intends to roll out 5G network in key cities at the earliest to be able to provide the benefits of the new-age networks to its customer, especially the heavy users and industrial applications," Mittal added.
On the company's plan to raise Rs 21,000 crore through rights issue, he mentioned that the capital will help improve the leverage position for the company and concurrently provide the fuel to accelerate investments across several parts of its portfolio to drive competitive and profitable growth.
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