A panel of secretaries will take stock of financial stress in the debt-laden telecom sector and suggest steps to provide relief to carriers such as Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel that are facing an over ₹80,000-crore payout in additional statutory dues after the Supreme Court order on adjusted gross revenue ( AGR ).Officials in the Department of Telecommunications ( DoT ) said the Committee of Secretaries (CoS), headed by cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba and likely comprising secretaries in the telecom, finance and law ministries, will consider steps such as a two-year moratorium on spectrum payments – for FY20 and FY21 – to ease the cash flow situation of telcos, besides reductions in the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) component of the licence fee, currently at 5% of AGR, and in spectrum usage charges (SUC), currently around 3% of AGR.One of the officials said it was expected that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India ( Trai ) would, in parallel, also examine the aspect of minimum charge for voice and data services to ensure that the financial health of the telecom sector remains robust and viability is sustained.ET had reported in its October 24 edition that the government was discussing the issue of setting a floor for tariffs to provide long-term support to the sector.Airtel deferred the release of audited Q2 results to November 14 after the SC order on AGR. The telco’s unaudited numbers showed India mobile services revenue grew 7.4% on year.The telecom sector has been plagued by falling revenue, dwindling cash flows and debt of over ₹7 lakh crore, amid an intense price war. Only one of the three existing private carriers – Reliance Jio – is making profits. Any move to fix a ‘floor tariff ’ though will mark a dramatic shift in stance as authorities have so far left it to telcos.Telcos, through industry body Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), urged the government to move speedily on the relief package. “…given the recent SC order on AGR, time is of the essence and we respectfully suggest the CoS should perhaps take a two-pronged approach — an immediate relief package to ensure operators’ financial viability in the light of the SC order and requirement to pay in three months, and the longer-term relief to ensure long-term viability and financial sustainability and health of the sector,” COAI director general Rajan Mathews said.Officials said an analysis of the financial performance of the mobile phone companies showed that aggregate gross revenue of the industry between 2017-18 and 2018-19 has “decreased”. AGR of the sector had shrunk to Rs 1.39 lakh crore in FY19 from Rs 1.85 lakh crore in FY17, telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had previously noted, while seeking relief measures from the finance ministry.They added that the price of data was an average of Rs 8 per GB, which was perhaps the lowest in the world, and monthly average revenue per user (ARPU) has plunged to Rs 113 in FY19 from Rs 174 in FY15. “…the recent Supreme Court Order on definition of gross revenue is expected to further enhance the financial stress of these TSPs (telecom service providers),” an official said. “Government intends to take a holistic view of the entire situation.”SC’s decision last Thursday to broaden the definition of AGR to also include non-core items has added to the sector’s woes, with carriers now facing additional dues of over Rs 1.3 lakh crore, including over Rs 92,000 crore in licence fees and the rest in SUC. Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel are the most affected with pending licence fee and SUC dues of Rs 39,000 crore and over Rs 41,000 crore, respectively, as per DoT’s court filings. They need to pay up in less than three months.Another senior DoT official, however, cautioned that telcos would need to pay their pending licence fee and SUC dues based on the demands to be raised shortly by the DoT.“The AGR issue is separate. The Supreme Court order has left very limited options for the DoT to consider,” the official said.He, however, added that the government was “seized” of the overall stress in the industry, and thus had set up the CoS which will meet shortly and submit their recommendations in a “time-bound manner” to provide long-term support to the sector.For example, a two-year moratorium on spectrum payment can help Vodafone Idea save nearly Rs 24,000 crore and Airtel nearly Rs 12,000 crore, as per industry estimates. The two telcos didn't respond to an email on the estimates.Shares of Bharti Airtel closed 3.4% lower at Rs 359.95 on the BSE Tuesday, having fallen over 5% intra-day. The Vodafone Idea stock fell nearly 12% intra-day before ending down 8.1% at Rs 3.85.“If Vodafone Idea is compelled to pay $5.5 billion towards licence fees/SUC (including penalties & interest), it would face severe financial stress, and its financial flexibility would be severely impacted and would impair its ability to bid for 5G spectrum in the (upcoming) auction,” Nitin Soni, director (corporates) at global rating agency, Fitch, told ET.He added that Bharti Airtel, on the contrary, could raise some $5.9 billion by tapping local banks or capital markets, but that would limit its spending on capex and its participation in 5G spectrum auctions.