RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on Saturday said the central bank will have internal discussions in case there are any issues arising out of the Supreme Court order regarding adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues to be paid by telecom companies.
On Friday, the Supreme Court threatened contempt proceedings against top executives of Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and other telecom firms for failing to comply with its directive to pay an estimated Rs 1.47 lakh crore in past dues. Das did not offer any specific comments about the order, which might have ramifications on banks in terms of their exposure to the financially-stressed telecom companies.
When asked about the order, Das said it would be internally deliberated upon, if at all there are issues arising out of it.
“It’s a Supreme Court order and I would not like to comment on an order issued by the apex court and its consequences this way or that way. This is an order of the apex court. Whatever implication etc, it is internal matter of the RBI to examine. It will be internally deliberated, if at all there’s an issue which arises out of that (order),” he said.
Addressing the media after the RBI’s board meeting here, Das also said credit growth is expected to pick up in the coming months. On Friday, State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman Rajnish Kumar had said it was incumbent on telecom companies to find money and that it would be safe to presume that they would have made some arrangements for it by now.