Sources close to the Hindujas said the group will bring in all the funds from overseas. "This shows the commitment of the group, one of the largest non-resident Indian groups in the world, to the Indian telecom sector," they added.

"The investment would involve meeting the licence fee requirement for the Gujarat venture and arranging the guarantees for the same. Most of the other partners in the venture are having financial problems and the Hindujas would be supporting it. There has, however, been a change of heart by one of the foreign partners and a large part of the investments would go into buying out the other partners as and when an agreement on the price and timing can be worked out," said sources.

With the new telecom policyhaving been announced the Hindujas have decided to go the whole hog in supporting the venture. "We are extremely positive about the venture and will support it to the hilt. We would like the issue of revenue sharing to be sorted out at the earliest. More than Rs 900 crore has been earmarked for various investments in the venture and the sector. Some of our partners have been wanting to exit. With the sector in the doldrums we were not able to buy out their stake. At the same time the venture needs heavy investments and someone needs to bring these in and we are ready for it," said sources.

Fascel has a total licence fee due of Rs 288 crore for the year of which it has paid 20 per cent and is currently arranging guarantees for the balance 80 per cent. The Hindujas are also set to buy out the 10 per cent stake of Himachal Futuristic Company Ltd which has made it clear that it does not want to be in the venture any longer.

At the same time, Fascel has expanded the equity by another Rs 155 crore to meet theinvestment schedule in the wake of financial institutions being reluctant to extend loans in the current scenario.

This means that not only do the Hindujas need to bring in fresh equity on behalf of their partners but have to also keep aside investments to buy out their partners as and when they need to exit.

"Apart from the current venture we are also open to picking up fresh circles now that the new policy has been announced," said the source.