new delhi the government is considering a lifeline for telecom companies through a moratorium on the mandated spectrum payments as part of a fresh set of measures to bolster the health of telcosthis comes at a time when vodafone idea which is facing acute financial stress has sent an sos to the government citing possible impact on its 27 crore subscribersthe telecom departments move if it goes through will be an extension to the alreadyrunning moratorium that was originally extended in november 2019 for fiscal years 202021 and 202122read alsovoda idea lenders fret over too big to fail telco gianta day after kumar mangalam birlas letter warning that vodafone idea vil may reach an irretrievable point of collapse became public banks are worried about the fate of the telecom major which they say is too big to failthe bailout if approved will be for all telecom players and not just restricted to the ailing vodafone idea where key shareholder kumar mangalam birla has appealed for government intervention to ensure that the company remains a going concern this would mean that any support will also be extended to other players such as bharti airtel and market leader reliance jio and would be worth thousands of croresthe government is concerned about the health of vodafone idea and especially the fact that its further deterioration or even collapse may have a debilitating impact on their nearly 27 crore mobile customers and the financial system a moratorium on spectrum payments is one of the options being considered however nothing has been finalised as of now sources told toithe proposal is being discussed at the highest levels in the government both within and beyond the telecom department sources added pointing out that the finance ministry and even the prime ministers office have been sounded out on the mattervodafone idea currently has loans worth rs 18 lakh crore at the end of the fourth quarter of 202021 and its last recorded losses stood at rs 7022 crore the company has exposure worth thousands of crores with banks while it has to pay even more to the government for spectrum and other dues apart from this vodafone idea also has to pay a little over rs 50000 crore to the government as part of agr dues following the supreme court verdict though companies had been given a tenyear schedule to make the payoutthe telecom ministry led by secretary anshu prakash also took stock of the situation to work out ways to ensure minimal disruption prakash also heads the digital communications commission the top interministerial body empowered to take decisions on the telecom sectorthe challenge for the government however is to assess whether a moratorium will be effective save vodafone idea from an impending bankruptcy it will be just a temporary relief in case their own business fundamentals doesnt improve another source saidin the previous spectrum payment deferment decision taken in november 2019 finance minister nirmala sitharaman had said that the industry was being handed out a rs