Friday, December 28, 2012

Why are doctors, actuaries and investment bankers joining WNS?

A graduate of the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, Meera Walia spent the first few years of her career as an army doctor, first in India & then in the Royal Army of Oman in Muscat. Then she decided she no longer wanted to treat patients. She moved, instead, to a newly developing sector called business process outsourcing (BPO), where she has remained for the past 12 years.

The last three have been with WNS, where she is Senior General Manager, in charge of operations, research and analytics for the healthcare sector. "BPOs are great for work-life balance. You have the flexibility to work at any time of the day and at your own pace, which is something I value," she says. 

Based in Gurgaon, Walia leads 40 doctors, dentists, physiotherapists and pharmacists who are teamed up with 350 other experts, especially statisticians, to do work for WNS's healthcare clients. Healthcare has emerged as one of the fastest growing sectors for BPOs and companies like WNS are now recruiting doctors in numbers.

"Our clients are doctors and they obviously like to interact with other doctors, not just at the sales level but also in operations. We expect to have over 1000 doctors within the next few years," says group CEO Keshav Murugesh.

The first phase of the BPO wave put money into the pockets of a whole generation of 20-somethings willing to work odd hours at call centre jobs. That set is still going strong, but now BPOs are also attracting a different type — highly qualified professionals who want to sign up for the lifestyle the job offers.

This includes a structured work environment, fixed hours and levels of stress that are far lower than that in the outside world. A chartered accountant by qualification, Pooja Daryani has been with WNS for seven years, which makes her quite a veteran by BPO standards.

She gained experience in the equity research function at Ernst & Young and Goldman Sachs before she joined WNS, where she is now general manager for operations, research and analytics for the consulting and professional services sector in Gurgaon, leading a team of 100 other chartered accountants and MBAs.

"A BPO job does provide better work-life balance than an investment bank. Our hiring ratio is currently 1:25, which means we have good employer branding," she says.

Starting off as the captive BPO of British Airways and later bought over by private equity firm Warburg Pincuswhich took it public six years ago, WNS is an archetype in its field. It now employs over 25,000 people in ten countries, though a majority of its employees continue to be in India, spread across Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Nasik, Bangalore and Vizag.

Today , as it moves from basic to higher end services, WNS is typical of the Indian BPO story. Though the bulk of its workforce works on prosaic tasks, there are also a rising number engaged in what is now called Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO).

"We don't want to be techno-coolies any longer," says Murugesh. "Earlier, our clients would tell us what to do and we would bill them on the basis of the number of people required to do their job.

Today, we are partnering with clients, offering them the services of more qualified people, where billing is based on outcomes. Those who liked our plain vanilla offerings are now ready to buy into something more complex."

Anupam Chatterjee graduated from Presidency College, Kolkata, in 2002, after which he started his MBA from HEC Paris and then transferred to MIT Sloan, where he specialized in analytics.

Thursday, December 27, 2012

Appreciate those who Love you...!!!!





















 

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Google Nexus 7 Gets Tablet-Friendly Linux OS, Courtesy Of Bodhi

Bodhi Linux developer Jeff Hoogland has launched a new tool that allows Nexus 7 users to install the Bodhi Linux OS on their Google slates.
The new tool means that Ubuntu is no longer the only Linux-based operating system that can run on the popular Google Nexus 7 tablet. To offer this tool, Hoogland basically piggybacked on Canonica's work with Ubuntu, and Nexus 7 owners can now install Bodhi on their tablets.
Bodhi Linux packs a light-weight Enlightenment Desktop which provides a touch screen-friendly user interface (UI) for tablets, among several other features.
"Installing Bodhi on the Nexus 7 follows the same process as installing Ubuntu on the device," wrote Hoogland. "I don't have an automated installer finished just yet so you will need to install the Bodhi images using a manual install process."
For now, the Bodhi Linux operating system for the Google Nexus 7 slate is still a work in progress. At this point, the touch screen and user interface are working, but the audio is still not fully functional yet.
"The touchscreen and wireless work OOTB and the interface runs smoothly on the device. I haven't had time to try and make audio work fully yet - but I have gotten some noise to come out of the speakers," explained the developer.
The Bodhi Linux operating system includes a touch-friendly app launcher, an Android-like home screen that allows users to arrange app icons, and toolbars both at the top and bottom of the screen. The OS also has an on-screen keyboard. On the other hand, one difference from the Android platform is that Bodhi Linux runs desktop-style apps in resizable windows.
As previously mentioned, installing Bodhi Linux on the Nexus 7 follows the same process as installing Ubuntu on the slate, and it involves a manual installation process. Check out Hoogland's blog post for more information and step by step instructions on how to install the OS, as well as a video of the OS in action.
Hoogland also offers Bodhi Linux builds for other ARM-based devices, including the Samsung Chromebook, the Raspberry Pi mini PC, and the Genesi Smartbook.

TDSAT asks Idea not to disconnect Aircel from network

Telecom tribunal TDSAT has directed Idea Cellular  not to disconnect Aircel from its network and said no SMS termination fee will be charged by either of the operators till the case is decided.

"It is directed that the respondent (Idea) shall not disconnect the signals of the petitioner (Aircel), no termination charge will be payable by any party to other party during pendency of these petitions," said TDSAT in its interim order.

Meanwhile, the Tribunal asked Loop Mobile to pay Idea Cellular 5 paise per message, which is half of the 10 paise SMS termination charges per message demanded by Idea Cellular. "... Petitioner (Loop) will start paying 50 per cent of the amount demanded by the respondent (Idea) @ 10 paisa per SMS on net inflow of traffic basis. This amount will be calculated and paid with effect from the date of filing of this petition," the tribunal said.

Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal's (TDSAT's) order came on two separate petitions challenging the SMS termination fee demanded by Idea Cellular.
     
Termination charges are paid by an operator from whose network calls or SMSes originate to the one on whose network these communications end.
In Aircel's case, the Tribunal observed that there was a clause in their agreement mentioning that there would be no termination charges for SMSes originating from either party's network and terminated on other party's network.

The agreement which became operational from February 20 was continuing till Idea raised demand. "Idea cannot change the terms and conditions of the said agreement unilaterally... Therefore, any amendment to the agreement has to be on mutual agreement in writing," said TDSAT.

However, in Loop Mobile's case, there was no specific clause in their agreement. "It is seen from the agreement dated July 17, 2007 executed between the parties that no provision exists about the payment or otherwise of termination charges for SMS services.

However, the SMS services are being provided by the parties without raising any bills or making any payment to other party," the Tribunal said. Idea on November 9, 2012 raised demand of Rs 13.07 crore as SMS termination charges for the period between July, 2012 and October, 2012. It had asked Aircel to pay the amount and execute a new agreement by December 6 this year, failing which SMS services were to be terminated. For Loop Mobile, Idea had asked it to pay Rs 17.27 crore for the period between July to October 2012.

Cadila, Lupin, Aurobindo, Dishman top picks in pharma:Angel

Angel Broking has come out with its report on "National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Policy, 2012". According to the research firm, the retail price of essential 348 drugs will be fixed at weighted average price of brands that have more than 1 % market share. Cadila Healthcare  , Lupin  , Aurobindo Pharma  and Dishman Pharmaceuticals & Chemicals  are the top picks in the space, says Angel.

After years of debate and deliberation on the contentious issue of price control of essential and life saving medicines, Govt. of India has finally approved and released the new drug pricing policy 2012.

Principles of the New Drug Pricing Policy: According to the new policy, Govt. will bring prices of 348 essential drugs (all formulations) mentioned in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) under control against the current practice of controlling prices of 74 bulk drugs and their formulations. The formulations will be priced only by fixing a Ceiling Price (CP). Manufacturers would be free to fix any price for their products equal to or below the CP. The CPs would be fixed on dosage basis, such as per tablet / capsule / standard injection volume as listed in NLEM-2011.

The methodology of fixing a ceiling price for NLEM medicines, is of adopting the Simple Average Price of all the brands having market share (on the basis of Moving Annual Turnover) more than and equal to 1% of the total market turnover of that medicine.

Pricing of the Drug: The CP will be fixed on the basis of readily monitorable Market Based Data (MBD) available with the pharmaceuticals market data specializing company IMS Health (IMS). As the IMS data gives price figures for stockist level prices, in order to arrive at the CP (which will be the maximum retail price) the IMS price will be further increased by 16%.

The CP for a drug listed in the NLEM would be the simple average of prices as calculated on the basis of IMS data six months prior to the date of announcement of the new National Pharmaceutical Pricing Policy ie the "Appointed Date" for bringing the new policy into effect. The prices of these NLEM-2011 medicines will be allowed an annual increase as per the Wholesale Price Index as notified by the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion.

Non-price Control Drugs: Under the existing price control regime, the prices of Non-Scheduled drugs are monitored, and in case the prices of such drugs increase by more than 10% in a year, subject to certain criteria, government fixes the prices of such medicines from time to time. In the proposed policy, all essential drugs are under price control.

It would follow that non-essential drugs should not be under a controlled regime and their prices should be fixed by market forces. However, in order to keep a check on overall drug prices, it is proposed that prices of such drugs be monitored on regular basis, and where such price increase is of above 10% per annum, the Government would be empowered to have the price of these drugs reduced to below this limit, for the next 12 months.

Imported Drugs: The CP determined for drugs falling under the span of control as in 4(iv) above shall also be applicable to such drugs that are imported. There will be no separate determination of CP for imported drugs falling under the span of control.

Conclusion: The proposed policy has recommended that the retail price of essential 348 drugs will be fixed at weighted average price of brands that have more than 1 % market share. We don't believe that the policy in its current form is not negative, as the policy is based on average price mechanism and thus follows competition. Given the price competition, the policy is unlikely to have any major negative implication for the sector. However amongst the domestic and MNC player, the latter would be impacted the most, as they mostly price their products much higher than the competition and then derive their 100% of the sales from domestic markets. The domestic companies not having very huge exposure to the domestic market, will be insulated to a large extent, as the pricing is not the key growth driver for their growth. Their products are therefore competitively priced. Thus, we maintain our recommendations on the sector; our top picks in the sector are Cadila Healthcare, Lupin, Aurobindo Pharma and Dishman Pharmaceuticals & Chemicals.

Lupin gets US nod for copy of oral contraceptive Yasmin

Pharma major Lupin  has received final US Food and Drug Administration approval for its Drospirenone and Ethinyl Estradiol Tablets in 3mg/0.03mg strength.  Lupin can now market the drug, which is a generic version of Bayer Healthcare's Yasmin tablets.

The Drospirenone and Ethinyl Estradiol Tablets are a combined oral contraceptive indicated for the prevention of pregnancy in women who elect to use oral contraceptives as a method of contraception.

Lupin said it will market the tablets in a wallet pack of 28 tablets consisting of 21 yellow active tablets, each containing 3 mg Drospirenone and 0.03 mg Ethinyl Estradiol, and 7 white inert tablets.

Yasmin tablets had annual sales of about USD 275 million in the US market, it said, citing IMS Health data for September 2012.

Lupin shares closed up over 1 percent at Rs 616.85 on NSE on Wednesday.

Sun Pharma shares rise on US acquisition

Sun Pharma shares rise on US acquisition
Shares in Sun Pharmaceutical Industries  , India's most valued drugmaker, rose as much as 2.5 percent after its unit agreed to buy the generic drugs business of US-based URL Pharma from Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical Co.

This is Sun Pharma's second acquisition in the United States within two months after it decided to buy skin treatment firm Dusa Pharmaceuticals Inc for USD 230 million.

Sun Pharma did not disclose the deal value and said late on Monday the deal was subject to regulatory approvals.

Upon completion of the deal, Sun Pharma's US subsidiary Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories will own and manage URL Pharma's generic assets other than Colchicine, a drug used to treat swelling and pain in certain conditions.

Takeda had acquired URL Pharma for an upfront payment of $800 million in June last year with a provision for possible additional payments based on future performance.

Valued USD 13.72 billion, shares in Sun Pharmaceutical Industries were up 2.3 percent at 738 rupees by 0610 GMT in a Mumbai market that was up 0.1 percent.

Sanofi to buy animal health division of Dosch Pharma

French drug-maker Sanofi has entered into an agreement to acquire the animal health division of Indian firm Dosch Pharmaceuticals for an undisclosed amount. Sanofi in a statement said that its animal health division Merial has entered into a binding agreement to acquire the animal health division of Dosch Pharmaceuticals, creating a market entry for Merial in the country's strategically important and growing animal health sector.
      
The agreement is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to finalise sometime in the first half of 2013, it added. The company, however, did not disclose financial details. "The acquisition of Dosch's Animal Health Division will be a significant milestone for Merial and give us a strategic platform for our development in the Indian market," said

Merial Chief Executive Officer Jose Barella. Barella added that combination of Dosch's animal health brands and distribution strength, along with the robust new product pipelines from both Merial and Dosch, will strongly position Merial to become rapidly a major animal health player in India.
     
Mumbai-headquartered Dosch Pharmaceuticals is a diversified pharmaceutical company, primarily operating through two divisions, animal health and exports. "The animal health division being acquired by Merial has more than 86 products under 50 brands for ruminants, poultry and companion animals," the statement said.
      
Products include an extensive range of animal health therapeutics and nutritional feed supplements. Within the animal health division, Dosch has a 279 member sales force, covering 18 Indian states.
     
"The strong nationwide sales, marketing and distribution network of Dosch, along with established products and people will be an ideal platform for Merial to enter the fast developing animal health market of India," Dosch Chairman and Managing Director Sanjay Doshi said.
      
Dosch CEO Sharat Tugnait and his management team will manage the future combined operations of Dosch and Merial in India under the supervision of Merila's Mayank Parekh, the company said.
      
The animal health market in India is estimated at more than Euro 350 million in 2012, and is experiencing annual double digit growth. India is home to the world's largest herd of cattle and buffalo, second largest herd of sheep and goats, and has the world's fifth largest population of poultry. The country is also the world's largest milk producer. 

Aurobindo Pharma gets USFDA approval for HIV drug

Drug firm Aurobindo Pharma  said it has received US health regulator's final approval to market Abacavir Tablets, used in the treatment of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), in the American market. The company has received final approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to manufacture and market the earlier tentatively approved Abacavir Tablets USP 300mg and is ready for launch, Aurobindo Pharma said in a filing to BSE.

Abacavir Tablets USP in strength of 300 mg is the generic equivalent of ViiV Healthcare Company's Ziagen and is indicated as part of antiretroviral (ARV) combination therapy for the treatment of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infected adults and children.

"The annual sale of the product is approximately USD 88 million. The product has been approved out of Unit III formulations facility in Hyderabad, India," the company said. Aurobindo now has a total of 167 abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) approvals from the USFDA. Shares of Aurobindo Pharma were trading at Rs 191 on the BSE in late afternoon trade, up 2.11 per cent from its previous close.

Natco Pharma hits life high on US nod for anti-ulcer drug

Shares of Natco Pharma  surged over 6 percent to a life high of Rs 498.90 on Wednesday on receiving US Food and Drug Administration approval for its anti-ulcer drug.

The US drug regulator has approved its abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for Lansoprazole delayed release capsules in 15 mg and 30 mg strength for the prescription market, it said.

The drug is a generic version of Prevacid marketed by Takeda Pharmaceuticals.

The Lansoprazole delayed release capsules will be manufactured and supplied by Natco Pharma to US-based Breckenridge Pharmaceutical Inc.

Natco has partnerships with Breckenridge for marketing the drug in the US.

Earlier this year, in a landmark judgement by India's Patent Office, Natco Pharma  won a compulsory license from Bayer for patent protected anti-cancer drug Nexavar, chemically known as Sorafenib.

Last month, India's patents appeal board dismissed British pharma major AstraZeneca's petition challenging an earlier ruling that refused patent protection for one of its cancer treatment drug. That judgement too boosted Natco shares then, as it had opposed the initial patent application for the Astra Zeneca drug.

Natco Pharma shares were up 6 percent at Rs 497 on NSE in afternoon trade. The stock has doubled in 2012.

See over 30% growth in next couple of quarters: Lupin

S Ramesh, President, Finance & Planning, Lupin
We will be launching Yasmin today or tomorrow. It will get included from this quarter itself. 
S Ramesh
President, Finance & Planning
Lupin 
Lupin had a good year in the stock market. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, S Ramesh, president - finance & planning of Lupin  says in the first two quarters of the current year, the company has exhibited more than 30 percent growth. "We are fairly confident that we will be able to sustain this in the next couple of quarters and for the foreseeable couple of years as well," he asserts.

The company, he says, has got a very rich pipeline for the US. ". We have got close to 180 filing out there. We have got 45 launches already. We expect to get close to about 100 approvals in the next few quarters," he elaborates.


Below is the edited transcript of his interview with CNBC-TV18's Udayan Mukherjee and Mitali Mukherjee.

Q: How is the US market looking going into 2013?

A: Pretty good. We have got a very rich pipeline for the US. We have got close to 180 filing out there. We have got 45 launches already. We expect to get close to about 100 approvals in the next few quarters. So, we think, for the next two-three years, in terms of our line-up site, the US does look a very good market for us.

Q: Yasmin, when is the launch date? How large this market is? What kind of potential revenues you could look at from it?

A: Yasmin has got USD 230 million in terms of innovator sales currently. We have got an approval for it. We will be launching it today or tomorrow. It would be good for us. It makes our overall portfolio pretty robust. We have got about 28 filings for the Oral Contraceptive (OC) market in America. We have already launched about five products there. So, to that extent, this is going to be the sixth product. It will help us to actually have a fuller basket of products for the OC therapy area. That's very important from a channel point of view.

Q: It is a USD 275 million market, but there are three other players. What could you garner in terms of market share? What kind of impact could it have in terms of sales or revenues for you?

A: In terms of a track record, we generally get between 25-30 percent in terms of market share. So, we expect to get the same quantum in, so far as this particular drug is concerned. I can't talk about price erosion as yet. Obviously, the entry of competition does destabilise the price. There would be price erosion. How much is it going to impact? I can't actually talk right now.

Q: Given the growth that you are seeing both in US and Japan, are you looking to tweak the guidance you have set out in terms of sales?

A: We don't as a matter of principle talk about guidance for the future. But if you look at track record, we have been going it on 25 percent. In the first two quarters of the current year, we have exhibited more than 30 percent growth. We are fairly confident that we will be able to sustain this in the next couple of quarters and for the foreseeable couple of years as well.

Q: Specific to Japan, what kind of growth do you expect via your other entities?

A: Japan is growing at around 10-12 percent. We have been exceeding the industry growth mark by about 25 percent at least. So, we expect to grow about 14-15 percent in the Japanese market. It is the second largest market in the world where the penetration is particularly low, about 25-26 percent. I was reading an analyst report yesterday, it talks about government's intention to take it to 60 percent in the next three-five years. So, if the penetration rate increases in Japan, the prospects for Lupin also certainly goes up.

Q: What is exactly date of launch for Yasmin?

A: It will actually get included from this quarter itself. We will be launching it this week.

TDSAT asks Idea not to disconnect Aircel from network

Telecom tribunal TDSAT has directed Idea Cellular  not to disconnect Aircel from its network and said no SMS termination fee will be charged by either of the operators till the case is decided.

"It is directed that the respondent (Idea) shall not disconnect the signals of the petitioner (Aircel), no termination charge will be payable by any party to other party during pendency of these petitions," said TDSAT in its interim order.

Meanwhile, the Tribunal asked Loop Mobile to pay Idea Cellular 5 paise per message, which is half of the 10 paise SMS termination charges per message demanded by Idea Cellular. "... Petitioner (Loop) will start paying 50 per cent of the amount demanded by the respondent (Idea) @ 10 paisa per SMS on net inflow of traffic basis. This amount will be calculated and paid with effect from the date of filing of this petition," the tribunal said.

Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal's (TDSAT's) order came on two separate petitions challenging the SMS termination fee demanded by Idea Cellular.
     
Termination charges are paid by an operator from whose network calls or SMSes originate to the one on whose network these communications end.
In Aircel's case, the Tribunal observed that there was a clause in their agreement mentioning that there would be no termination charges for SMSes originating from either party's network and terminated on other party's network.

The agreement which became operational from February 20 was continuing till Idea raised demand. "Idea cannot change the terms and conditions of the said agreement unilaterally... Therefore, any amendment to the agreement has to be on mutual agreement in writing," said TDSAT.

However, in Loop Mobile's case, there was no specific clause in their agreement. "It is seen from the agreement dated July 17, 2007 executed between the parties that no provision exists about the payment or otherwise of termination charges for SMS services.

However, the SMS services are being provided by the parties without raising any bills or making any payment to other party," the Tribunal said. Idea on November 9, 2012 raised demand of Rs 13.07 crore as SMS termination charges for the period between July, 2012 and October, 2012. It had asked Aircel to pay the amount and execute a new agreement by December 6 this year, failing which SMS services were to be terminated. For Loop Mobile, Idea had asked it to pay Rs 17.27 crore for the period between July to October 2012.

Airtel, Voda charged in spectrum allocation in NDA regime

Airtel, Voda charged in spectrum allocation in NDA regime
Three telecom companies, including Bharti Airtel  and Vodafone India, were today chargesheeted by the CBI in connection with alleged irregularities in the allocation of additional spectrum during the NDA regime which had resulted in a loss of Rs 846 crore to the exchequer.

The agency filed its charge sheet, also naming former telecom Secretary Shyamal Ghosh as accused, before Special CBI Judge O P Saini who fixed January 14 for consideration of the charge sheet.

The charge sheet named three telecom firms -- Bharti Cellular Ltd, Hutchison Max Pvt Ltd (now known as Vodafone India Ltd) and Sterling Cellular Ltd (now known as Vodafone Mobile Service Ltd) -- as accused in the case. CBI refrained from mentioning the name of then Telecom Minister late Pramod Mahajan as accused in the charge sheet which also did not mention any charge against the promoters of Airtel and Vodafone.

All the accused have been chargesheeted for the offence of criminal conspiracy (120-B) of the IPC and under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The agency, in its 57-page charge sheet, said the decision regarding allocation of additional spectrum to these telecom firms was taken in "undue haste" in pursuance to the conspiracy hatched amongst Mahajan, Ghosh and these companies.

"Investigation has thus established that the aforesaid decision dated January 31, 2002 (regarding allocation of additional spectrum) was taken in undue haste pursuant to the criminal conspiracy hatched amongst the accused public servants, late Pramod Mahajan, the then MOC&IT, Shyamal Ghosh, the then secretary DoT and said accused telecom companies," it said.

GSM subscribers down over 9m to 663.78m in Nov: COAI

GSM operators, including Bharti Airtel  , Vodafone and Idea, lost over 9 million subscribers in November, bringing down the user base to 663.78 million, industry body COAI said. The total subscriber base at the end of October was 672.80 million users. The top three operators - Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular - which account for over 67 per cent of the GSM market lost over 6.74 million users in November, data released by Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said.

Not even a single operator added any new subscriber during November, 2012. Bharti Airtel, which is the industry leader with a 27.66 per cent market share, lost 2.80 million users to take its subscriber base to 183.61 million, it said. Vodafone and Idea Cellular lost 2.38 million users and 1.56 million users respectively. With this, Vodafone's subscriber base stood at 150.76 million, while that of Idea Cellular was at 114.14 million at the end of November 2012, COAI said.

Aircel lost 1.46 million users in November which squeezed its user base to 65.32 million at the end of November. Uninor lost 4,37,915 users, while Videocon lost 3,79,787 subscribers in the said month. The COAI figures showed that state-run operator BSNL did not add a single subscriber in November and had a 14.64 per cent share in the GSM market with 97.17 million subscribers. Another state-run firm MTNL lost 741 users, taking its user base to 5.12 million at the end of November 2012.

Bharti falls on speculation over possible CBI charges

Bharti falls on speculation over possible CBI charges
Shares in Bharti Airtel  fell as much as 3.2 percent on Friday amid speculation that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) may file charges against India's top mobile phone carrier as part of a broader case involving alleged irregularities in airwave allocations.

A source at the CBI told Reuters that officials were likely to file charges related to the broader case as early as Friday but did not specify whether those might included Bharti. The source declined to be named because of the ongoing investigation.

A Bharti spokesman declined to comment. Bharti has previously said it had complied with all rules.

The CBI probe concerns alleged irregularities in allotting mobile spectrum in 2002 during the previous government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is now in opposition.

The investigation follows a scandal over airwave allocations in 2008 that rocked the ruling Congress Party-led government. The Supreme Court had asked the CBI to investigate any possible irregularities in the granting of mobile permits from 2001 to 2007.

Bharti shares were down 2.2 percent as of 1.56 p.m., under-performing the 0.8 percent decline in the broader Nifty.

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