India has welcomed British Home Secretary's approval for the extradition of fugitive liquor baron Vijay Mallya who has been staying in Britain for the past couple of years pending cases related to money laundering and non-payment of bank debts running into millions of dollars.

"India now awaits early completion of the legal process for the fugitive businessman to be sent back home," reported the Times of India on Tuesday.

"The government is reluctant to say anything more at this stage as it knows that Mallya can still go to higher authorities for a reprieve," it added.

Now, Mallya has 14 days time to go into appeal against the order.

Following the Home Secretary's approval, he made his intentions clear that he would go in for an appeal.

"After the decision was handed down on Dec. 10, 2018, by the Westminster Magistrates Court, I stated my intention to appeal. I could not initiate the appeal process before a decision by the Home Secretary. Now I will initiate the appeal process," Mallya tweeted on Monday.

Reacting to approval order, India's Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the Modi government's "anti-corruption" plank got a major boost and the main ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) got a shot in the arm ahead of parliamentary elections, with Britain clearing Mallya's extradition. 

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