The Delhi government announced the draft of its new startup policy on Tuesday to position the national capital as a global hub for innovation and entrepreneurship and make it the most preferred destination for startups. The goal is to create 5,000 startups by 2035, generate jobs and promote inclusive growth, set up incubators and accelerators with easy funding access and create the right environment for startups to grow. Mint explains what’s in it and why it matters.

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       Vodafone Idea Ltd has filed a fresh writ petition in the Supreme Court challenging an additional demand of ？9,450 crore by the Union government towards adjusted gross revenue dues.

       The Supreme Court had on 18 March 2020 locked Vodafone Idea’s AGR dues till 2016-17 based on calculations by the department of telecommunications (DoT), adding that no self-assessment or re-assessment of the dues would be permitted.

       But DoT has now sought additional payments for up to 2018-19, Vodafone Idea said in its petition dated 8 September, which Mint has seen.

       Of the ？9,450 crore, the additional demand raised by DoT from Idea Group and Vodafone Idea (post merger in August 2018) was at ？2,774 crore, while the demand against Vodafone Group (pre-merger) was ？6,675 crore, according to the petition.

       The beleaguered telecom operator owes about ？83,400 crore in AGR dues to the government, with annual payments of ？18,000 crore beginning in March. Overall, Vodafone Idea’s total dues to the government stand at around ？2 trillion, including penalty and interest.

       “A sum of approx ？9,450 Crores has been computed by the DoT which is to be considered with reference to the scheduled payment due on 31 March 2026. In this sum of approx ？9,450 crores, the majority amount of approx ？5,606 crores (as on 31.03.2025) is for the period up to FY 2016-17 which has already been crystalized by this Hon'ble Court," Vodafone Idea said in its petition.

       The telecom operator requested the Supreme Court to quash DoT’s additional demands for AGR payments up to FY17, and to order a comprehensive reassessment and reconciliation of all AGR dues for that period. Adjusted gross revenue represents a portion of a telecom company's gross revenue that’s considered towards regulatory payments.

       The substantial liability created by the AGR demand threatened the company’s existence and “the livelihood of thousands of employees working directly or indirectly" with it, Vodafone Idea said in its petition. The company has nearly 198 million users and more than 18,000 employees.

       Also Read | Will Vi survive beyond FY26? Court petition says it may not

       ‘Erroneous math’

       According to Vodafone Idea’s latest petition, DoT’s additional demand pertains to dues involving licence fees (calculated as a percentage of AGR). If payment demands towards additional spectrum usage charges for the period up to FY17 are also considered, the amount is about ？6,800 crore as on 31 March 2025, it said.

       In a letter dated 13 August to Vodafone Idea, DoT said revised or updated outstanding licence fee dues up to FY19 had not been tabulated in the Supreme Court’s order dated 1 September 2020.

       The department told the telecom operator that the licence fee dues were calculated with interest and interest on penalty up to October 2019, and updated up to 31 March 2025 with interest calculated at a rate of 8% per annum. Mint has seen a copy of the letter.

       In response, Vodafone Idea in a letter dated 28 August to DoT said that it cannot raise any revised or updated AGR demand for the period up to FY17 without seeking clarification on the Supreme Court’s September 2020 judgement.

       The company informed DoT that it was not admitting any liability other than periodic interest on ？58,254 crore. It also called out DoT’s calculation on the licence fee dues for FY18 and FY19 as erroneous.

       The government owns nearly 49% stake in Vodafone Idea after converting nearly ？53,083 crore of dues into equity in two tranches—in February 2023 and April 2025.

       In April, Bharti Airtel Ltd urged DoT to convert its AGR dues of about ？40,000 crore into equity, which would give the government a 3-4% stake in India’s second-largest telecom operator. The company said in August it was ready to pay the dues but that it expected the government to extend it the same relief given to any other telecom operator.

       Also Read | Vodafone lenders worried about the fate of loans

       Quest for survival

       In 2019, the Supreme Court ruled that Vodafone Idea and its peers needed to pay statutory liabilities on AGR, including non-telecom revenue, to the government. But there were massive gaps between the telecom department’s calculations and self-assessed dues by telecom operators.

       For Vodafone Idea, DoT calculated total dues at ？58,254 crore against the company’s estimate of ？21,500 crore.

       In August 2024, the Supreme Court rejected curative petitions filed by Vodafone Idea and other operators seeking relief in the apex court’s 2019 ruling.

       In May this year, the Supreme Court rejected Vodafone Idea’s plea for a waiver on ？45,000 crore in interest and penalties on its ？83,400 crore AGR dues. A four-year moratorium on these payouts ends this month.

       “Although, it has been the Petitioner’s (Vodafone Idea) case itself that the amount of ？58,254 crores is erroneous and riddled with clerical and arithmetical errors. However, in light of the directions passed by this Hon'ble Court, petitioner is unable to seek rectification of the demands," the company said in its latest petition.

       According to Vodafone Idea, the directions passed by the Supreme Court also restrain the government from raising additional AGR dues for the period till FY17 over and above the amount of ？58,254 crore.

       Also Read | PMO to take a call on Vodafone Idea’s fate

       Vodafone Idea has also requested the government for relief on its AGR dues. Without such relief, the company told the government and the Supreme Court earlier that it won’t be able to survive beyond the current financial year.

       “It is important to note that this payment of approx. ？18,000 crores which has to be paid on a yearly basis for the next 6 years, is far in excess of the Company’s operational cash generation capacity each year," the company told the Supreme Court in May.

       Vodafone Idea’s annual operational cash generation was in the range of ？8,400-9,200 crore the previous three financial years, it had said.

       “Our request to the government has been that let us resolve this (AGR issue) earlier than before the deadline of March so that banks get clarity and we can proceed with bank funding," Akshaya Moondra said during his final earnings call as chief executive of Vodafone Idea on 18 August.

       Mumbai: Godrej Interio, known for its office chairs and steel almirahs, is investing ？300 crore in a brand revamp—new identity, modern stores, and trendier collections to revitalise its legacy furniture business.

       Godrej Interio has already invested ？350 crore in its furniture manufacturing operations, and hopes to double revenue to ？10,000 crore by 2028, top company officials said.

       “We want to be India's most trusted lifestyle brand," Nyrika Holkar, executive director of parent firm Godrej Enterprises said at a formal brand launch on Tuesday. “We are uniquely placed in the Indian market with everything, from design to manufacturing to logistics, entirely in-house. We can deliver this vision better [than the competition]," she told Mint.

       Read more: Benetton India CEO steps down; marketing head, commercial director also leave

       Retail expansion

       Godrej Interio will open 500 new stores in the next three years to reach 1,500 outlets and revamp its existing network, opening flagship “experience centres" of 20,000 sq. ft each that include cafeterias and breakout areas for shoppers. The brand is also converting some outlets to large-format stores where customers can sample furniture as they are placed in rooms, and offer video consultations for online customers. It will also introduce new lines of multipurpose furniture, such as sofas, which can be customised to the shoppers' needs.

       The furniture and interior design company unveiled a new logo and ad film, as it aims to increase domestic online sales while exploring exports to Europe and the US, business head and executive vice-president Swapneel Nagarkar said. “We are market leaders with 15% market share of the organised furniture market in India," he said, adding that the total market is worth approximately ？90,000 crore. “But 70% of the furniture industry is unorganised. We will see a shift from the unorganised to the organised sector."

       Godrej Interio is best known for its office furniture, but plans to boost its consumer-facing vertical with this brand revamp. As of FY25, B2C (business-to-consumer) sales accounted for ？700-800 crore of Interio's roughly ？4,000 crore topline. 15% of this comes from online sales. Consumer appliances, including refrigerators and air-conditioners, are Godrej Enterprises' biggest consumer-facing business.

       Read more: Cookware startups stir competition pot with safe materials, smart supply chains

       The brand revamp marks a shift from the company’s 2017 launch, Script, which targeted the super-premium segment. It was later shut down.

       Portfolio strategy

       Interio will focus on economy goods ( ？20,000-25,000 per piece) to premium furniture (upwards of ？90,000) per piece, and offer services for both single-piece buyers and those looking to furnish entire homes, Nagarkar said.

       Much like Godrej Interio's revamp ambitions, global brand Ikea is known for its multipurpose, customisable furniture and sprawling 50,000-sq ft flagship outlets with in-house restaurants. However, the Swedish home furnishing brand has struggled to scale, with revenues of over ？1,800 crore but losses worth nearly ？1,300 crore as of FY24. Ikea opened a small store in Pacific Mall in Delhi's Tagore Garden area earlier this year, formally starting operations in the city.

       “They [Ikea] are much more known for accessories in India and are just starting out on furniture," Godrej's Holkar said. “We are better known for furniture and are just starting out in accessories."

       Apart from Ikea, Godrej Interio competes with newer furniture online retailers such as Urban Ladder (acquired by Reliance Retail in November 2020) and Pepperfry, which has raised a total of $307 million in funding as of this June, per research firm Tracxn.

       Read more: Colive plans 12,000 beds in tech hubs under $100 million co-living platform