The government will kickstart in a week its long-pending 3G spectrum auction process by issuing notice inviting applications from bidders, the telecom minister said, indicating that the auction would now happen only in the next financial year starting April.

To a question whether the auction would be conducted during the current fiscal year ending in March, Andimuthu Raja said: "I can't assure that."

"But NIA (notice inviting applications) will be released this week. Then you can take 40-45 days," he told reporters.

The auction has been deferred since January on differences with the defence ministry which possesses much of the airwaves, though officials said last week the issues between the related ministries had been resolved. The government has already budgeted for Rs 350 billion ($7.6 billion) of revenue in its budget for the current fiscal year and the lack of it could widen the fiscal deficit, which is at a 16-year high.

The cabinet secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar said last week that it would not matter if the 3G auction happened in this fiscal year or the next, and that setting a date would be done according to how to maximise revenue from the auction.