Bharti Airtel will become the second carrier to offer the Apple iPhone in India later this year after Vodafone, the country’s largest GSM carrier announced today. SingTel, which has a 30.6 percent stake in Airtel, has inked a deal with Apple to distribute the iPhone in Australia, India and Singapore. Earlier, Vodafone had made a similar announcement that included 10 countries including Australia and India. 

Neither Airtel nor Vodafone have divulged the details of availability or pricing of the iPhone. However, market speculations peg the price of the iPhone at around Rs 27,000 and expect it to be available before Diwali. At the moment, it is unclear whether Vodafone, which had signed an agreement with Apple before SingTel, has an exclusivity period during which it will be the sole distributor of the iPhone. When the BlackBerry was first introduced in India, Bharti Airtel had a one-year exclusivity deal with RIM.

After inking exclusive deals in the US and Europe last year, Apple intends to maximize shipments of its iconic cellphone by having non-exclusive global distribution deals. The maker of the iPhone is also expected to announce a 3G version of the phone sometime next month. The Cupertino-based company has already shipped over six million iPhones since its launch in June last year and hopes to meet its target of 10 million shipments before the end of 2008.