Bharti to invest Rs 200 cr in J&K

India's leading mobile operator Bharti Airtel Ltd will invest Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) in Jammu and Kashmir during 2006-07 as part of moves to double its subscriber base in the state.

"We would be investing about Rs 200 crore in the state this fiscal. This would be in addition to the Rs 200 crore that we have already invested in the state so far," Rajan Mittal, joint managing director, Bharti Airtel told PTI.

He said the company planned to double its subscriber base in the state to 600,000. The company, which offers services under the Airtel brand, would also be increasing the number of its cell sites in the state to 670 this year.

In the Kashmir valley alone, the number of sites would be increased to 370 from 175 at present, he said.