Govt to announce telecom merger rules

NEW DELHI: India will this week announce guidelines for mergers and acquisitions within a circle or a zone in the booming telecoms sector, Telecommunications Minister Arun Shourie said.

"I am quite confident the guidelines for intra-circle mergers will be released this week," Shourie told an industry conference.

India's telecoms sector is made up of 23 circles or zones, each roughly covering a state or a large city. Late last year, the government decided to permit intra-circle mergers but had not released rules governing them.

In another announcement, Arun Shourie said that the government will take a decision about hiking the foreign investment limit in the telecommunications sector only after the forthcoming elections.

© Reuters