DoT gives final approval to Vodafone-Idea merger 
The Department of Telecom has given its final approval to the merger of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular, which will create India's largest mobile operator with around 430 million subscribers. The firms made a joint payment of â¹7,268.78 crore "under protest" to DoT. Commenting on this, Idea Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla said it marks the beginning of an "exciting journey".