Vodafone Idea shares rally nearly 10% as K M Birla returns to company board

New Delhi: Shares of Vodafone Idea jumped nearly 10 per cent in morning trade on Friday after Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla returned to the board of the debt-ridden firm as an additional director in a non-executive and non-independent role.

The stock of the telecom firm zoomed 9.73 per cent to Rs 6.65 on the BSE.

At the NSE, it jumped 9.91 per cent to Rs 6.65.

Birla had stepped down from Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) board in August 2021 as non-executive chairman of the company.

"...the board of directors of the company...at its meeting appointed Kumar Mangalam Birla, as an additional director (Non-Executive and Non-Independent) with effect from 20 April 2023," VIL said in a regulatory filing on Thursday.

VIL is reeling under a debt of Rs 2.22 lakh crore, comprising deferred spectrum payment obligations of Rs 1.39 lakh crore and adjusted gross revenue liability of Rs 69,910 crore that are due to the government.

The debt from banks and financial institutions stood at Rs 13,190 crore as on December 31, 2022.