Wipro, India�s third-largest information technology (IT) services firm, is now eligible to participate in various World Bank projects; a four-year ban on the company in 2007 has expired. However, the company has to reapply to become a vendor of the bank, which will be decided based on the eligibility criteria and other norms.

�Wipro has served their full four-year sanction period (June 13, 2007, to June 12, 2011) for the sanctionable practice of providing improper benefits to the Bank staff,� an agency report said quoting a World Bank spokesperson from Washington.

The spokesperson said Wipro had not applied for vendor status with the Bank. �However, should they do so, the Bank's own vendor registration process will evaluate their eligibility with an appropriate level of diligence applied to the issue of governance,� he said.