Proposed FDI cap review by Cabinet in July 3rd week: FM
The Union Cabinet is likely to review the proposal for a cap on teh FDI in the third week of July. The Finance Ministry earlier this week had proposed sweeping changes in the FDI regime, favouring higher sectoral caps in defence, and telecom.
June 22, 2013 / 17:09 IST
The Union Cabinet is likely to take up the proposal of hiking FDI ceiling in various sectors later next month, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said today.
"FDI cap review may come up before Cabinet in third week of July," he said replying to query on when the government will take a call on raising FDI ceilings.Also read: FDI cap hike in key sectors likely to boost investment moodSeeking to promote India as an investment destination, the Finance Ministry earlier this week proposed sweeping changes in the FDI regime, favouring higher sectoral caps in almost all sectors including defence, multi-brand retail and telecom.
Virtually calling for doing away with the 26 percent ceiling, a committee headed by Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram recommended that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) limit be raised to 49 percent in almost all sectors through automatic route.
The Mayaram-headed panel suggested that FDI in defence be raised to 49 percent under the government approval route, from 26 percent at present.
Besides, it has proposed to increase FDI cap to 74 percent in the multi-brand retail trading under the government approval route.
It also proposed raising the cap to 49 percent under automatic route in sectors like single-brand retail, existing pharma companies, power and commodity exchanges, PSU banks, tea plantation, print media, PSU petroleum refinery, asset reconstruction companies, stock exchanges, insurance, depositories and clearing corporations and satellite services.
As regards courier services, the Mayaram panel said FDI up to 100 percent be allowed under automatic route. In the civil aviation sector, the committee suggested 100 percent FDI in non-scheduled air transport services under the automatic route as against the current 49 percent. The proposed policy, sources said, will be discussed amongst top ministries during the first week of July. Government is keen on increasing FDI ceilings to attract more overseas investments and finance the widening current account deficit (CAD), the difference between inflows and outflows of foreign exchange.
India's CAD, which touched a record high of 6.7 percent of GDP in the October-December quarter, is likely to be around 5 percent for the entire 2012-13 fiscal. As per RBI, India can sustain CAD of about 2.5 percent.
Economic growth rate, meanwhile, slipped to a decade low of 5 percent in 2012-13, while FDI inflows declined by 38 per cent to USD 22.42 billion. Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
