Voda-Idea merger awaits DoT okay

New Delhi: The merger of Vodafone-Idea seems to have run into a bureaucratic hiccup with the department of telecom seeking legal opinion on the spectrum charges that telecom players need to pay before the deal is cleared.

The new demand is in addition to the bank guarantee of around Rs 2,100 crore that the government will get from Idea Cellular for dues against one-time spectrum charges.

Telecom minister Manoj Sinha said the government will clear the long pending Idea-Vodafone merger immediately after the department of telecom (DoT) completes all statutory formalities.

"The DoT has set rules for merger and acquisition. The Idea-Vodafone merger will be cleared without a single second delay once DoT completes all statutory formalities," Sinha said on the sidelines of an event.

Following the disruptive foray of billionaire Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Jio in September 2016, the UK-based Vodafone and Aditya Birla group's Idea Cellular have announced their merger to create India's largest telecom company, moving ahead of Sunil Mittal's Bharti Airtel in market dominance.

Sinha said the department was only following the laid- down rules, and once the two companies meet the required process, the merger would be instantaneous.

IDEA Cellular Limited