Jaitley reviews FDI policy in various sectors

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday held a meeting with other ministers and government officials for a review of the current Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy, informed sources said.

Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Power Minister Piyush Goyal, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj attended the meeting, the sources said.

The official refused to give any details of the meeting.

The government has been considering further liberalising the FDI regime to attract foreign investments in various sectors, including 100 per cent FDI under the automatic route for the production in India of tanks, armoured vehicles and military transport aircraft.

Allowing 100 per cent FDI in single brand retail through automatic route is also said to be under consideration.

Currently, 49 per cent is allowed through automatic route and investments above that have to meet the condition of 30 per cent local sourcing though companies bringing in state-of-the-art technology have been given a relaxation from the proviso of local sourcing for a period of three years.

Increasing the FDI limit from 26 per cent to 49 per cent in print media is also said to be under consideration.

In 2016-17, the FDI inflows had hit a record $60.1 billion after the rules were relaxed in June 2016.

The government last year eased the foreign investments in aviation and defence up to 49 per cent by automatic route and 100 per cent through government approval. Seventy-four per cent FDI in pharmaceutical sector was allowed through the automatic route.

--IANS

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