Mumbai: The department of telecom (DoT) has asked state-run Telecom Consultants India Ltd (TCIL) not to divest its stake in Bharti Hexacom Ltd (BHL), Rajasthan''s largest cellular operator. Instead DoT asked TCIL to subscribe fully to the rights issue offered by BHL and fund it from internal resources.

"TCIL should not divest its 30-per cent equity and continue to have its stake in BHL. TCIL should subscribe to the rights issue offered by BHL to the fullest extent and it should be subscribed by TCIL from its internal resources," DoT wrote in a letter to G D Gaiha, chairman and managing director of TCIL.

The DoT move is likely to hamper the Sunil Mittal group''s plans to increase its stake in the Bharti Hexacom. The Bharti group, which runs Airtel, the largest cellular firm in the country, has a 67.5-per cent stake in BHL and has made a bid to acquire another 30-per cent stake in the company.

TCIL intends to exit the cellular business and had invited bids for divesting its 30 per cent stake in BHL. Meanwhile, the Shyam group, the original promoters have also made a bid to acquire TCIL''s stake in BHL.

A leading certified public sector undertaking, TCIL is a premier telecommunication consultancy and engineering company with a strong base in telecommunication and information technology (IT). Incorporated in 1978 by the DoT, TCIL is backed by the vast network of BSNL and MTNL, in terms of training and manpower, research and development. TCIL offers total telecom solutions for projects worldwide.

TCIL has projects and consultancy jobs in nearly 45 countries, mainly in Africa, Southeast Asia and Europe and provides world-class technology and Indian expertise in all fields of telecommunications.