Govt clears FDI proposals worth Rs 10,380 crore

The government on Thursday said it had cleared 23 foreign direct investment proposals, including that of Catholic Syrian Bank and Bandhan Financial Services, amounting to Rs 10,378.9 crore.

The investment proposals were approved after the recommendation for the same by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), headed by Finance Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi.

FIPB has also cleared an investment proposal of Mylan Laboratories, an Indian arm of US-based Mylan Inc. As it entails investments of Rs 4,960 crore, the Board recommended the proposal for approval of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. The Board has also deferred decision on 13 proposals, including of Volkswagen Finance, Amar Ujala Publications, Eros International and Reliance Globalcom.

Kolkata-based Bandhan Financial Services, which has got licence to operate as a full-fledged bank, has got government approval for conversion of pre-existing FDI of 33.14 per cent from an NBFC MFI into core investment company.

The proposals entail investment worth Rs 1,049 crore.

Besides, private sector Catholic Syrian Bank has got clearance for raising foreign investment limit in the bank from 49 per cent to 74 per cent. The proposal is worth Rs 1,200 crore. The bank has recently got nod for IPO.

Other proposals that have been cleared include that of GlaxoSmithKline, Alpha Pharma Healthcare India, Natco Pharma, and Den Networks.

The Ministry further said six FDI proposals have been rejected. These include that of Centurion Laboratories, Jasper Infotech, Diabu Diamond Tools and BTL India.

India received USD 7.45 billion worth of FDI during April-May of 2015-16 fiscal, up 40 per cent from USD 5.3 billion in the corresponding period of last fiscal.