Idea Cellular on Monday said it has received approval from Department of Telecom (DoT) to increase foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in the company to 100 percent from the current 67.5 percent.

The DoT approval is for total foreign investment up to 100 percent in Idea Cellular, and total indirect FDI in its relevant subsidiaries – Aditya Birla Telecom and Idea Cellular Infrastructure Services.

Idea Cellular said the FDI approval is a major milestone in the merger process of Vodafone India with Idea Cellular.

The merger of Vodafone India with Idea Cellular is in the final leg of regulatory approvals and is expected to complete in the first half of 2018, subject to the final approval from the DoT.