Dec. 7 (Bloomberg) -- India's Sensitive Index rose, paced by telecommunications companies on expectations that growth will continue in the world's fastest growing wireless services market.

Reliance Communications Ltd., India's second largest wireless provider, rose after the government amended terms of its license, allowing the expansion of its mobile-phone services based on the global system for mobile communications, or GSM, platform nationwide. Larger rival Bharti Airtel Ltd. extended gains after being chosen as one of the three top Asian phone picks by UBS AG.

``It is positive for Reliance Communications because the GSM market is much larger,'' said Mahesh Patil, who helps manage $800 million in stocks at Birla Sun Life Asset Management Co. in Mumbai, some of them in Bharti and Reliance shares.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex rose 73.89, or 0.4 percent, to 19,869.76 at 11:25 a.m. local time, after rising as much as 1.5 percent. The S&P/CNX Nifty Index on the National Stock Exchange gained 11.70 points, or 0.2 percent, to 5,966.40. Nifty futures for December delivery advanced 0.4 percent to 5,992.

Infosys Technologies Ltd., India's second largest exporter of software services, led some other software makers higher after the U.S. government announced a plan to limit defaults on subprime mortgages. The proposed move may boost consumer spending in the world's biggest economy. India's software industry gets about 60 percent of its sales from the U.S.

Mobile Mania

Mumbai-based Reliance Communications informed the Bombay Stock Exchange it plans to extend its GSM services nationwide ``in due course''. The carrier already has a network based on code division multiple access technology across the country.

India, where local wireless call charges are as low as 1 U.S. cent a minute, had 217.1 million mobile-phone customers at the end of October, of which nearly three-fourths were GSM users.

Reliance Communications rose 20.2 rupees, or 2.8 percent, to 738.9, gaining for the third day in a row. Bharti Airtel, nearly a third owned by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., advanced 38.1 rupees, or 4.1 percent, to 978.

Both Bharti and Reliance are seeking more airwaves from the government to expand services in rural areas. Bharti and some other GSM operators have legally challenged the government's new criteria on allocating airwaves.

``We might see some compromise, which will still be positive for Bharti as all negatives due to regulatory changes have been figured into its stock price,'' said Birla Sun Life's Patil.

Zurich-based UBS said yesterday Bharti, China Mobile Ltd. and PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia are its top three phone picks for investment next year as demand for wireless services in emerging markets drives growth.

Software Gains

Infosys, based in Bangalore, gained 34.1 rupees, or 2.1 percent, to 1,669. Larger rival Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. rose 14.3 rupees, or 1.4 percent, to 1,048.5.

The following stocks rose of fell. Stock symbols are in parentheses after company names.

Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. (RBXY IN) gained 6.5 rupees, or 1.6 percent, to 404.45 after India's third largest drugmaker by market value, got tentative approval to sell a generic copy of Eisai Co.'s best-selling Alzheimer's drug Aricept. Ranbaxy won tentative approval for 5 milligram and 10 milligram tablets of donepezil hydrochloride, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on its Web site.

Vikas WSP Ltd. (VWSP IN) rose 1.75 rupees, or 3.1 percent, to 58.5 after the maker of food additives said its board will consider proposals to raise funds and that the company intends to make a preferential share sale at 82.5 rupees each.

Construction companies: Indiabulls Real Estate Ltd. (IBREL IN) rose 10.8 rupees, or 1.6 percent, to 677.05 and Unitech Ltd. (UT IN) gained 15.85 rupees, or 3.7 percent, to 447 after the Economic Times reported, without saying where it got the information, the two companies are among 16 that may receive government licenses to offer mobile-phone services in India,

The telecom department will issue letters of intent in the next two days to the companies that applied for government licenses before Sept. 25, the newspaper said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Shailendra Bhatnagar in New Delhi at sbhatnagar3@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: December 7, 2007 02:19 EST