The Indian government may throw a lifeline to its mobile operators, which were hit by a recent court judgement that would require them to pay almost $14bn related to adjusted gross revenue (AGR). There are proposals to allow the MNOs to defer spectrum payments, and all three of the major operators – Vodafone Idea, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel – plan to raise prices from next month, to start to extricate themselves from a crippling price war that will make next year’s 5G auctions unaffordable. The administration needs to act – there has been speculation that Vodafone might even pull out of India if the financial situation does not improve, which would be a hefty blow to India’s ambitions to…