Govt clears 18 FDI proposals worth Rs 123 cr

The government today said it has approved 18 FDI proposals worth Rs 122.79 crore, including those of Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering Company, but has deferred a decision on the proposed sale of stake by Essar to Vodafone.

A total of 39 FDI proposals were taken up by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), but it put off a decision on 16, rejected four and directed one applicant to approach the Reserve Bank, the Finance Ministry said in a statement.

In an FIPB meeting held on August 5, the board cleared the proposal of Pipavav Defence Offshore Engineering Company to infuse Rs 81.62 crore of foreign capital in the company.

The FIPB, headed by Economic Affairs Secretary R Gopalan, also approved Air Works India (Engineering) Pvt Ltd's proposal to make downstream investments in aviation companies in India. This FDI proposal was worth Rs 17.77 crore.

It has also approved the application of Walt Disney Company to undertake the additional activity of broadcasting and downlinking in India, the statement added.

Furthermore, the board has allowed Dish TV India Ltd to induct foreign equity through a transfer of shares to carry out the business of telecommunication equipment manufacturing. It also approved a Rs 5.85 crore investment in Gujarat-based Om Pile Pvt Ltd.

However, the board has deferred a decision on the proposed acquisition of a 5.48% stake in telecom company Vodafone-Essar by two Mauritius-based companies for about Rs 2,700 crore.

The board has deferred the decision to "transfer shares from Resident to NR to carry out the activities relating to telecommunication," the statement said on the Vodafone proposal.

In addition, the board postponed a decision on the proposal of Essar Capital Holdings (India) to acquire equity shares of way of subscription to new equity shares or purchase of existing shares in an investing company engaged in the telecom sector.

In its last meeting, the FIPB had cleared 31 FDI proposals worth Rs 3,844.7 crore.

The FIPB offers single window clearance for proposals on FDI that are not allowed through the automatic route. The next meeting of the FIPB is scheduled on September 2.