According to Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman and managing director, Bharti Enterprises, the approval, which was given by FIPB last week, clears the decks for the single largest investment, ever made by an overseas company in the Indian telecom sector. It is also the largest ever investment made by a Singapore company in India.

The $2.86 billion-SingTel will partner Bharti in setting up the Domestic Long Distance Operations (DLDO) and for constructing under sea submarine cables, connecting Singapore and Chennai.

The infusion of funds from SingTel will also help Bharti realise its ambitions of setting up "pan-India telecom presence" through new projects and acquisitions. The two companies also plan to work together to develop projects in the SAARC region and the Indian Ocean rim countries, including domestic and international long distance, cellular and fixed line, and submarine cabling.