Final govt nod for Vodafone-Idea merger

The government has given a final approval for the mega merger of Vodafone and Idea Cellular, creating India's largest mobile operator with 35 per cent market share and around 430 million subscribers. The move comes just days after Idea Cellular and Vodafone India made a joint payment of £726.87 millon “under protest” to the Department of Telecom (DoT) for combining their businesses. A senior DoT official said the final approval was accorded to the merger and the entities would now approach the Registrar of Companies (RoC) for stipulated filings for approval, completing the last leg of formalities.