Foreign firm need not form JV with Indian co for 3G bidding:Behura

New Delhi, Sep 18 (UNI) Telecom Secretary Siddartha Behura today clarified that to bid for 3G spectrum in India, a foreign telecom player doesn't need to form a Joint Venture with a domestic firm.

''The winning firm will have to comply with the FDI norms before starting their operations in the country...however, for bidding for 3G spectrum in India, the foreign player does not need to form a JV with an Indian company,'' Mr Behura told reporters here.

Notably, at present, the government allows telecom firms to have foreign direct investment of up to 74 per cent only.

Yesterday, in a different view on foreign companies bidding for 3G spectrum, Minister of State for Communication Jyotiraditya Scindia opined that the current procedure may impede the entry of the US firms.

Meanwhile, the US players also wanted the Department of Telecom to allow them to bid as 100 per cent foreign entities or give them a minimum of six to seven months after announcement of bidding details to enable them form JV with Indian firms before the spectrum is auctioned.

UNI SBA SG HT1227