DIPP working on aligning sectoral regulations with FDI policy

The government is working to remove all anomalies which are restricting foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country, a top official today said.
Secretary in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Ramesh Abhishek said that there are certain "sectoral regulations which are not in conformity" with the FDI policy.
"So, we are working on that," he said here at FICCI function.
He also said that the department is working with ministries of health and pharmaceuticals on amending the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.
Talking about the FDI figures, he said that in the last two and a half years, India has attracted about USD 130 billion, which is a "record".

"We are seeking huge amount of interest in FDI," he added.

When asked about proposals in FDI in food processing, he said that companies are making plans, "so, we are seeing a lot of interest".
On improving India's ranking next year in the ease of doing business report of the World Bank, Abhishek said the DIPP is working on several steps.
"For next year, we are focusing on public feedback because that is important," he said, adding in 2017 improving India's rank is a challenge.
Speaking at the event, Health Secretary C K Mishra said that the "roadmap is ready" for the amendment in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.

Talking about the road sector, Road Transport and Highways Secretary Sanjay Mitra said that meeting the "stiff target" of 25,000 km is a challenge in the new year.
Minister of Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari has set a target of 25,000 km of National Highways to be awarded in 2016-17 as against the 10,000 km awarded in 2015-16.
"We intend to continue our simplification of our model concession agreement for PPP. We have already taken a large number of steps...But the Finance Ministry is working on a overall umbrella programme for the PPP renegotiation framework. The work is at fairly advance (stage). It will enable us to unlock a larger number of stalled projects," Mitra added.