India’s Aditya Birla Telecom and Spice Communications have applied to the Department of Telecommunications to merge with Idea Cellular, Gurudas Kamat, a federal junior minister for communications, said Thursday, according to Dow Jones Newswires. In June 2008, Idea Cellular said it will buy a 40.8 percent stake in smaller rival Spice Communications for about INR21.76 billion and then merge Spice Communications with itself through a share swap.