The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has approved the merger of Telenor India with Bharti Airtel. The National Company Law Tribunal had approved the proposed merger on March 8, 2018. The merger will increase Airtel’s spectrum footprint in seven telecom circles, with the addition of 43.4 MHz of spectrum in the 1800 MHz band. Telenor India runs operations in seven circles–Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh (East), Uttar Pradesh (West) and Assam. DoT has asked Airtel to reduce its market share based on adjusted gross revenue in the Bihar circle to a maximum of 50 per cent within one year from the date of the merger approval.