India's Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) is still considering whether to join a consortium that is buying a 46 percent a stake in Kuwait's Zain, the chairman of the state-run telecom said on Thursday.

"It is a huge deal. So we have to see what is there in the consortium," Kuldeep Goyal told Reuters.

Vavasi Group, a little-known Indian firm, is leading a consortium with a Malaysian businessman to buy the stake -- comprising Kuwaiti family conglomerate Kharafi Group's estimated 20 percent holding plus that of other shareholders -- in Zain, a telecom firm, in a deal valued at around $13.7 billion.

BSNL and another Indian state-run telecom, MTNL, have been approached to join the consortium. Earlier this month, the two firms said while they were open to opportunities to expand abroad, they were yet to take a decision on the Zain deal. - Reuters