Rupert Murdoch will visit India for five days from March 12 to review the expansion of Star TV. The News Corp boss was facing an arrest warrant in India until recently because a participant on the Nikki Tonight show, broadcast on Star, had abused Indian icon Mahatma Gandhi.

The visit will be Murdoch's third trip to India and will take in Bombay, Delhi and India's silicon capital Hyderabad, where News Corp-owned eVentures is launching a joint venture capital fund Indian businessman Pramod Mittal.

During his stay, Murdoch will meet Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Indian Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley and Indian Information Technology Minister Pramod Mahajan.

The visit comes at a time when the Indian government is formulating a new broadcasting bill. Star has been seeking permission from the Indian government to launch a direct-to-home TV network for the past five years.

Murdoch, who previously visited India in February 1994 and June 1996, will this time be accompanied by his wife Wendy Deng and youngest son James. US president Bill Clinton is slated to visit India in late March.