Idea Cellular has received approval on its application to increase Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) limit in the company to 100%, from the current 67.5%, from the Department of Telecom (DoT) Monday.  

The approval is for total foreign investment upto 100% in Idea Cellular, and total indirect FDI in its relevant subsidiaries-Aditya Birla Telecom and Idea Cellular Infrastructure Services.  

The FDI approval is a major milestone in the merger process of Vodafone India with Idea Cellular, and follows other statutory approvals already received from the SEBI, NSE, BSE, CCI and NCLT Mumbai and NCLT Ahmedabad.

The merger of Vodafone India with Idea Cellular is in the final leg of regulatory approvals and is expected to complete in H1CY18, subject to the final approval from the DoT. 

Shares of the company declined Rs 2.3, or 3.67%, to trade at Rs 60.45. The total volume of shares traded was 657,357 at the BSE (10.17 a.m., Tuesday).