Vodafone Idea Limited — Ethics Grade D

Vodafone Idea Limited receives an overall ethics grade of D (32/100) on CancelCo's corporate accountability database. Sector: Telecommunications. Market cap: Large Cap.

Category scores

• labor: 25
• privacy: 40
• consumer: 30
• environment: 50
• humanRights: 45

Documented incidents (3)

• Retrospective Tax Penalty Case (high, 2021) — The company was embroiled in a decade-long $2 billion tax dispute with the Indian government regarding its entry into the market. While the government eventually scrapped retrospective taxes, the legal battles raised significant transparency concerns.
• Mass Workforce Reductions (medium, 2023) — Facing severe financial distress, the company implemented massive layoffs and delayed salary payments to thousands of employees. Reports indicated a lack of adequate severance support during the restructuring process.
• Systemic Service Failures (medium, 2022) — Regulatory bodies noted a high frequency of call drops and data outages, resulting in millions of user complaints. The company faced penalties for failing to meet quality-of-service benchmarks established by TRAI.

Documented good deeds

• Digital Literacy Program — The Vi Foundation scaled its digital literacy program, reaching over 1.5 million women in rural areas to bridge the gender digital divide.

Ethical alternatives

• Reliance Jio — Better infrastructure investment and clearer financial transparency.