With this, Intel's equity amounts to about $50 million. The venture seeks to take In cable to 6 million households and improve the bandwidth. Intel has also expressed a desire to increase its stake in the future.

Maharashtra state chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh who met SP Hinduja during his two week tour of the US and UK told reporters that Intel and the Hindujas have already signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in this regard.

Deshmukh, who was accompanied by the state industries minister Patangrao Kadam said that the Star TV-led joint venture with Ispat group will set up a production facility in Mumbai by the end of this year. The joint venture is expected to make an investment of nearly $50 million in this project to deliver the highest quality in locally produced content to the Indian theatre and TV market.

Deshmukh said that News Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch had already made an announcement for laying an optic fibre network in Mumbai and other parts of India. The project in Mumbai will cost about $200 million.

Deshmukh said that the state government had received an investment commitment worth Rs 900 crore during his visit of the US and UK. These proposals will be mainly for automobiles, information technology, software and biotechnology. He announced that the state-run Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) had been appointed as a nodal agency to encourage foreign investments in the state.

Deshmukh said that the US-based venture capital company Allegro will start operations with a Rs 270 crore investment in Mumbai. Suhas Patil, a non resident Indian, will also set up a venture park in north west Mumbai. This will give a boost to IT start ups in the areas of software development, IT enabled services, e-commerce, financial services and entertainment.