After DoT nod, Vodafone-Idea set to be country's largest telecom operator

The new entity, to be headed by Vodafone insider and current COO (India) Balesh Sharma, will have a revenue market share of about 37.4 per cent and more than 438 million subscribers

Vodafone Idea is on its way to becoming the largest telecom operator in the country, dethroning Bharti Airtel, as the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has given its final nod to the merger.

The approval came after the companies deposited over Rs 72 billion to DoT on July 23 under protest. The firms have deposited a bank guarantee of Rs 33.22 billion for one-time spectrum charges and Rs 39.26 billion cash for liberalising spectrum up to 4.4 MHz assigned to Vodafone administratively. The firms now need to register the merged entity with the Registrar of Companies.

The new entity, to be