Skip to main content

Govt releases simpler, investor- friendly FDI compendium

By
Seeking to make foreign direct investment (FDI) policy simpler, the government on Wednesday released an updated compendium by incorporating all policy changes and eliminating unnecessary explanations, but retains the United Progressive Alliance ( UPA) regime’s policy on opening of multibrand retail for foreign investment.

Besides other things, the compendium includes provisions for issue of “sweat equity” to non- resident employees and directors and defined the terms private security agencies, private security and armoured car service.

“The FDI policy has been made simpler and investor friendly; facilitating ‘Make In India’ and ease of doing business.

The circular will serve as a ready reference for foreign investors on various provisions of the FDI policy," the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion ( DIPP) said. It said the 109 page policy has also clarified on private security agencies by borrowing definition of few terms from the Private Security Agencies ( Regulation) ( PSAR) Act, 2005.

Also, DIPP in the consolidated FDI policy has retained the previous UPA regime’s decision allowing foreign retailers to open multi- brand stores with 51 per cent ownership.

The Bharatiya Janata Party( BJP)- led NDA ( National Democratic Alliance) government, which came to power in May 2014, has not made any changes to this policy. However, the BJP had opposed foreign investment in multi- brand retail sector in its election manifesto.

The new compendium, which came into effect from from Tuesday, mentions all the existing FDI policy decisions, as also the changes made since May 12 last year.

These include changes in the FDI norms in over a dozen sectors, including pensions, insurance, asset reconstruction company, e- commerce guidelines, single- brand retail, plantation segment and broadcasting.

An official said the department would prepare a thinner version of the policy mentioning sectors and their FDI caps.

Investors would otherwise have to go through various press notes and RBI regulations to understand the policy. The government updates the policy every year.

FDI in India grew by 29 per cent to $ 40 billion in 2015- 16, against $ 30.93 billion in the previous financial year. Further the compendium also includes provisions made for enabling investments in real estate and infrastructure investments trusts and guidelines for FDI on e- commerce. Non- resident Indians have been made eligible for subscription to National Pension System governed and administered by PFRDA.

Business Standard, New Delhi, 09 June 2016

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Household debt up, but India still lags emerging-market economies: RBI

By
  Although household debt in India is rising, driven by increased borrowing from the financial sector, it remains lower than in other emerging-market economies (EMEs), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its Financial Stability Report. It added that non-housing retail loans, largely taken for consumption, accounted for 55 per cent of total household debt.As of December 2024, India’s household debt-to-gross domestic product ratio stood at 41.9 per cent. “...Non-housing retail loans, which are mostly used for consumption purposes, formed 54.9 per cent of total household debt as of March 2025 and 25.7 per cent of disposable income as of March 2024. Moreover, the share of these loans has been growing consistently over the years, and their growth has outpaced that of both housing loans and agriculture and business loans,” the RBI said in its report.Housing loans, by contrast, made up 29 per cent of household debt, and their growth has remained steady. However, disaggregated data sho...
Post a Comment
Read more

External spillovers likely to hit India's financial system: RBI report

By
  While India’s growth remains insulated from global headwinds mainly due to buoyant domestic demand, the domestic financial system could, however, be impacted by external spillovers, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its half yearly Financial Stability Report published on Monday.Furthermore, the rising global trade disputes and intensifying geopolitical hostilities could negatively impact the domestic growth outlook and reduce the demand for bank credit, which has decelerated sharply. “Moreover, it could also lead to increased risk aversion among investors and further corrections in domestic equity markets, which despite the recent correction, remain at the high end of their historical range,” the report said.It noted that there is some build-up of stress, primarily in financial markets, on account of global spillovers, which is reflected in the marginal rise in the financial system stress indicator, an indicator of the stress level in the financial system, compared to its p...
Post a Comment
Read more

Retail inflation cools to a six-year low of 2.82% in May on moderating food prices

By
  New Delhi: Retail inflation in India cooled to its lowest level in over six years in May, helped by a sharp moderation in food prices, according to provisional government data released Thursday.Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation eased to 2.82% year-on-year, down from 3.16% in April and 4.8% in May last year, data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) showed. This marks the fourth consecutive month of sub-4% inflation, the longest such streak in at least five years.The data comes just days after the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee cut the repo rate by 50 basis points to 5.5%, its third straight cut and a cumulative reduction of 100 basis points since the easing cycle began in February. The move signals a possible pivot from inflation control to supporting growth.Food inflation came in at just 0.99% in May, down from 1.78% in April and a sharp decline from 8.69% a year ago.A Mint poll of 15 economists had projected CPI ...
Post a Comment
Read more