Maran wants good firms to enter India

Ahead of his scheduled meeting with Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin, who is bidding for Hutch-Essar, Communications Minister Dayanidhi Maran on Wednesday said the government wanted good companies to enter the country.

"We want good players to come to India. Whatever they do (thereafter) is their business," he told PTI, while commenting on the interest generated by the country's telecom sector.

Sarin, who arrived in New Delhi early this morning, began his day by meeting Sunil Mittal, chairman of Bharti Airtel, in which Vodafone holds 9.9 per cent, followed by a meeting with Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath.

Without mentioning UK telecom giant Vodafone's bid for Hutch-Essar, he said, "The recent development (of foreign players interest in acquiring Indian firms)

shows the strength of India's telecom sector and proves that the sector is growing. It also proves that we made the right decision in increasing FDI cap to 74 per cent."

He said the FDI policy for telecom sector was "a clear signal" to the foreign players about the growth and opportunities in the Indian telecom market.

Sarin, who would be meeting Maran later in the day, told PTI on his arrival that his company was looking to buy whatever stake is available in Hutch-Essar and put in a bid in the next few weeks.