Single FDI document by end of the year, says Anand Sharma

The government planned to introduce a single foreign direct investment (FDI) document by the end of the financial year to simplify the process, and was currently discussing the various modalities, Commerce and Industry minister Anand Sharma said today.

“We have put this document for discussions with all stakeholders to invite their comment, which is expected to close by January 31. By March 31, we will have a single FDI document to ensure simplification, easy comprehension and predictability,” Sharma told reporters at the Bancon conference here.

This would make the entire process for FDI more investor-friendly. The new format would subsume all 177 press notes. At present, the document was under discussion among all stakeholders, which was expected to close by the end of this month, he said.

The new policy would come in the form of a single consolidated press note, which would not only specify the sectoral caps, but also the way foreign investments would be treated. The consolidation of the FDI policy framework is expected to make it more comprehensible to all investors and stakeholders. Besides, the government also plans to review FDI rules every six months.