| Govt clears Rs 2,000-crore FDI in Orange Realty | |
| BS Reporter / New Delhi Mar 19, 2009, 00:51 | | | | | |
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Ban on export of pulses extended by a year.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) today allowed over Rs 2,000 crore foreign investment in Orange Realty, which will consequently become a foreign-owned Indian company.
The CCEA approved an investment company ‘IRVO-III’ to inject investment into Orange Realty Pvt Ltd, following which the Indian outfit will be able to make different investments, including Rs 2,051 crore in a special economic zone project.
“The investing company is by the name of IRVO-III. That company has a large of number of well-known investors. That company is now investing in Orange Realty Pvt Ltd,” Home Minister P Chidambaram said after the CCEA meeting.
The proposal was earlier cleared by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board, but since the investment exceeded Rs 600 crore, it required CCEA approval, Chidambaram said.
India allows 100 per cent FDI in the real estate sector, subject to certain norms relating to project details. The approval comes at a time when funds inflow has slowed to a trickle, owing to the global financial meltdown.
In an earlier meeting of the CCEA in February, at least three senior ministers had opposed the company’s FDI proposal on the ground that the identity of its promoters was unclear. The Cabinet had decided then to postpone the decision till the prime minister came back to work.
In another decision, the Cabinet today extended the ban on export of pulses and exemption in duty on their imports till March 2010. “The decision today is to extend zero duty on import of pulses for one more year beyond March 31, 2009,” Chidambaram told reporters after the meeting. The Union Cabinet also decided to extend the ban on export of all varieties of pulses ,except ‘kabuli chana’, for one more year, till March 31, 2010.
The government hopes to control the prices of pulses through the combination of duty-free imports and ban on their exports. According to the latest data, the inflation rate for pulses was at 13.09 per cent for the week ended February 28 this year, even as overall inflation dropped below 3 per cent level.
The Cabinet today also decided to distribute imported pulses through the public distribution system for six more months.
Among other decisions, the government gave its approval to notifications for the commencement of general elections, which would take place in five phases starting April 16. The notifications would be issued on March 23, March 28, April 2, April 7 and April 17, Chidambaram told reporters.
The Cabinet also approved the proposal to continue India’s participation in the Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-Governmental Organisation (BOBP-IGO) beyond April 2008. BOBP-IGO has been functioning in India since April 2003 to develop fisheries in the Bay of Bengal region, with its head office in Chennai.
The other members of BOBP-IGO are Bangladesh, India, Maldives and Sri Lanka.
A decision to impose President’s Rule in Meghalaya was also taken in the Cabinet meeting today. The Centre had received a report from Governor R S Moosahary about breakdown of constitutional machinery in the state.
“After taking note of what happened in the Meghalaya Assembly yesterday, the governor has reported that there is a breakdown of constitutional machinery and recommended imposition of President’s Rule and keeping the Assembly in suspended animation,” Chidambaram said, adding that the governor’s report was accepted by the Cabinet and a suitable recommendation was being sent to the President.
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