Gains were led by index heavyweights with Reliance Industries contributing the most.
With Airtel and RCom already having launched their special offers for post-paid customers, and RJio around the corner, Vodafone makes its move with Red.
Investor sentiment got a boost following remarks from the Russian President Putin that allayed fears of an imminent military conflict in Ukraine
Markets end in the red, midcaps in focus
Jio's disruptive strategy, including free voice services and data at throwaway rates, apart from offering all services free for six months, triggered a consolidation in the telecom sector.
Sensex, Nifty end the day in red on unfavourable cues from global markets.
Can we make high speed 4G Internet available at 10 cents per GB, and make all voice calls free of cost -- that too in a large and diverse country like India? Can we make high-quality but simple breast cancer screening available to every woman, that too at the extremely affordable cost of $1 per scan? Can we make a portable, high-tech ECG machine which can provide reports immediately and that too at the cost of 8 cents a test? Can we make an eye imaging device that is portable, non-invasive and costs 3 times less that conventional devices? Can we make a robust test for mosquito-borne dengue, which can detect the disease on day 1, and that too at the cost of $2 per test? Amazingly, says Dr R A Mashelkar, the eminent scientist, all this has been achieved in India, not only by using technological innovation but also non-technological innovation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to urge Tim Cook to begin manufacturing its prized iPhones in India.
The broader markets, however, outperformed the benchmark indices -- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices ended up 0.6%-1%.
Also, the combination of a new entrant and new technology is not necessarily good.
Corporate legal cases kept India Inc on its toes in 2014 as high stake matters on coal, telecom and mining came up in the Supreme Court, which also sent Sahara Group chief Subrata Roy to jail.
Roadshows will be held in Singapore, Hong Kong, London, New York and Boston, NTPC gained close to 1%.
Markets in green tracking firm global cues.
After a two year run-in with controversies, telecom sector now looks stable and seems back on its feet with initial investment proposal of over Rs 11,000 crore (Rs 110 billion) received in 2013.
'While investors in Reliance have had to play a game of patience for long stretches, for Anil the challenge is to do what used to be his brother's forte -- generating cash by putting assets in the ground and making things,' says T N Ninan.
The Aam Aadmi Party has demanded the dismissal of Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad alleging a conflict of interest that has prevented him from issuing a notice to Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio on the 4G issue, a charge vehemently denied by Prasad who said he never gave advice or appeared for the company.
'The workers's dance of wilful destruction has the potential to kill all investments planned in India by any foreign entity,' argues Dr Sudhir Bisht.
India Inc has few leaders who are likely to grab headlines in 2015.
No one is quite sure when the soft launch is likely.
