Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

Vodafone CEO pledges US $1.5 billion investment

The CEO of Vodafone Group Plc., Mr. Arun Sarin called on the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh along with Sunil Mittal, chairman and Group Managing Director, Bharati Enterprises at his office in South Block. Mr. Sarin informed the Prime Minister that his company intends to invest US $ 1.5 Billion towards acquiring a stake in Bharati Telecom Ventures. This will be the single largest investment in India in recent weeks.

Mr. Sarin gave an overview of the world telecom scenario, in particular the socio-economic impact of the mobile telephony in the macro economics of the country. He informed the Prime Minister that together with Bharati they intend to extend coverage of mobile services to a much greater fraction of the population,including the remote rural areas.

The Prime Minister welcomed Vodofone's investment in India, and said India would like to see a quantum jump in FDI in all sectors.