All telecom proposals now need home ministry nod

Ministry of Home Affairs will now be the approving authority for all telecom sector proposals in which all details including the passport numbers of the company directors, both Indian and foreign, need to be provided.

Foreign Investment Promotion Board under the finance ministry, which looks at overseas investments in companies has issued a direction to the applicants in the telecom sector in this regard saying, "All proposals in respect to the telecommunication sector are now required to be approved by the Ministry of Home Affairs."

Hence, all investors in the sector will need to furnish information on the directors of the company including foreign collaborators and investors on their percentage of stake, nationality and passport number among other personal and professional details.

A Department of Telecom official said that the decision has been taken keeping in mind the security perspective and the profile of the international investors, be it a foreign telecom company or investors. The other trigger is use of telecom network in the blasts in Bangalore, Jaipur, Surat, Ahmedabad and New Delhi.