<p>Indian billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla has returned to the board of Vodafone Idea Ltd as an additional director less than two years after leaving the mobile service provider.</p>.<p>Birla, formerly a chairman at the debt-ridden telecom giant, will join the board effective April 20, Vodafone's Indian JV said in an exchange disclosure.</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/business/business-news/birla-is-said-to-weigh-selling-insurance-brokerage-unit-1171250.html" target="_blank">Birla is said to weigh selling insurance brokerage unit</a></strong></p>.<p>He also serves as the chairman of conglomerate Aditya Birla Group, which held an 8.36 per cent stake in Vodafone Idea as of Feb 7, according to Refinitiv data.</p>.<p>Earlier in the day, the telecom company said Krishna Kishore Maheshwari, a former top executive at Aditya Birla Group-owned Ultratech Cement Ltd, had quit as a non-executive director, citing personal reasons.</p>.<p>Vodafone Idea's net debt stood at 2.23 trillion rupees ($27.18 billion) before the Indian government in February converted the nearly $2 billion of dues that it was owed into equity, becoming the company's biggest shareholder.</p>.<p>In 2021, the government approved a rescue package for debt-strapped telecom companies, allowing them to convert interest on deferred adjusted gross revenue owed to the government into equity.</p>
<p>Indian billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla has returned to the board of Vodafone Idea Ltd as an additional director less than two years after leaving the mobile service provider.</p>.<p>Birla, formerly a chairman at the debt-ridden telecom giant, will join the board effective April 20, Vodafone's Indian JV said in an exchange disclosure.</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/business/business-news/birla-is-said-to-weigh-selling-insurance-brokerage-unit-1171250.html" target="_blank">Birla is said to weigh selling insurance brokerage unit</a></strong></p>.<p>He also serves as the chairman of conglomerate Aditya Birla Group, which held an 8.36 per cent stake in Vodafone Idea as of Feb 7, according to Refinitiv data.</p>.<p>Earlier in the day, the telecom company said Krishna Kishore Maheshwari, a former top executive at Aditya Birla Group-owned Ultratech Cement Ltd, had quit as a non-executive director, citing personal reasons.</p>.<p>Vodafone Idea's net debt stood at 2.23 trillion rupees ($27.18 billion) before the Indian government in February converted the nearly $2 billion of dues that it was owed into equity, becoming the company's biggest shareholder.</p>.<p>In 2021, the government approved a rescue package for debt-strapped telecom companies, allowing them to convert interest on deferred adjusted gross revenue owed to the government into equity.</p>