Although no official word is forthcoming from any of the three parties that the talks are finally off, informed sources said both India Today and Mantra have decided not to go in for a joint-venture. The point ofdivergence was mainly on the nature of activities and business focus of the proposed venture.

When contacted Mr Sunil Mittal, chairman and mananging director of Bharti group said: "We have been talking to many parties for synergistic business alliances and it would continue in future also." He refused to specifically concede that talks with the Indian Today Group Online for the proposed joint-venture was off. One factor which could have contributed to Mantra Online deciding to walk out of the talks, according to sources, could also be the concern about losing business focus in the ISP segment, to a pure content company like Living Media.

When contacted Mr Arun Seth, chief of British Telecom in India, also refused to comment on the joint-venture breaking up, and said his company is committed to the ISP business in India, despite any hiccups. An India Today Group Online spokesperson, when contacted, said "as a matter of policy, we don't comment on the negotiations with various prospective business partners." He refused to give any details about the failure of talks. But industry circles feel that now that the talks have come to a grinding halt, India Today might look out for alternative opportunities that would suit its online business interests better.