Govt to take up fresh FDI proposals on April 20

NEW DELHI: The government has called a Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) meeting on April 20, the first one after it announced major changes in FDI norms, to approve proposals for foreign direct investment.

While the agenda of the 165th FIPB meeting was being finalised, sources said the Board may also consider those cases on which decisions were deferred in the past.

In the last meeting the Board had approved 14 FDI proposals, including that of Mauritius based Ghir Investments, totalling Rs 1,289.85 crore. The meeting was held on March 11.

Meanwhile, Japan Brake Industrial Co, Japan has sought FIPB approval to manufacture components of automobiles and other two-wheeler vehicles.

As per the FIPB in the Finance Ministry, Mumbai-based Pruksa-Luxora has also sought the government's nod for FDI in construction of residential buildings and alterations in the existing ones.

In the March meeting, the FIPB had deferred decisions on 27 proposals, including that of Essar Capital Holdings and Forbo Holding AG, Lindenstrasse, Switzerland.

During the 11-month (April-February) period this fiscal, FDI inflows into India declined by 25 per cent to USD 18.3 billion.

With an aim to attract more and more FDI in the country, the government has been taking several steps, including simplification and rationalisation of the policy.

On March 31, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, the nodal agency on FDI policy, had affected several major changes in the norms.

Besides, allowing greater flexibility to Indian firms to raise overseas capital, the government also scrapped norms that required a foreign company to obtain its domestic JV partner's approval for making investments in same field outside the joint venture.

The new norms also allow Indian companies to issue equity against import of capital goods.

The policy regarding foreign investment for production and development of agriculture seeds and planting material has also been liberalised.

Also the facility of conversion of capital goods import into equity was earlier available only to companies raising external commercial borrowings (ECBs).