Mumbai, Nov 18 (IANS) Vodafone-Idea (VIL) on Monday advanced nearly 18 per cent on the NSE over investors renewed interest in telecom stocks over a possible government-led revival. Bharti Airtel also surged by 3.5 per cent.

This comes after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday stated that the government doesn't want any telecom company to shut operations.

"All factors have been subsumed in the discussions within the government on the telecom sector. Post-AGR, the Finance Ministry is trying to understand the impact of the order on the telecom sector," Sitharaman said.

Airtel and Vodafone Idea -- have posted a combined loss of Rs 74,000 crore in Q2 by provisioning for the AGR pending dues. Vodafone has hinted at not being able to remain as a going concern if relief does not come for the sector.

--IANS ravi/in