Bharti Airtel may have to pay a penalty of Rs 600 million for violating licencing norms

The government is examining the option of imposing a penalty of Rs 6 billion on Bharti Airtel for alleged violation of licencing norms, say news reports.

Earlier, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had proposed imposing a penalty of Rs 500 million on the operator for violating national and international long-distance licence conditions in 13 circles. These alleged violations took place between 2000 and 2005. According to DoT, the violation of licencing norms by Bharti Airtel resulted in financial losses to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited and the Indian government.

It has taken up the issue with Kapil Sibal, Minister of Communications and IT.