Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin on Wednesday discussions with Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, who asked the UK telecom giant to follow best commercial practices in its bid to acquire Hutch-Essar.

"It (a deal) should be done in a transparent manner in accordance with best commercial practices... and in the best interest of all stakeholders," Nath told Sarin, who arrived in New Delhi this morning to pursue acquisition of India's fourth largest mobile venture.

Sarin told reporters after the meeting the talks were "fruitful" and that "formal bidding was still a few weeks away." When asked whether that meant the bids would come by the end of this month, he said: "Later than that."

On whether he sought clarifications from Nath on FDI regulations in India, Sarin said: "Regulations are clear."