Union Budget 2017-18: Foreign Investment Promotion Board to be abolished soon

Moneycontrol BureauFinance Minister Arun Jaitley announced on Wednesday that the Foreign Investment Promotion Board would be abolished in the coming financial year.

Delivering his Budget speech, he said that his government’s substantive measures with regard to Foreign Direct Investment policy over the past three years had seen more than 90 percent of FDI proposals come through the automatic route. As a result, he said, it made sense to away with the FIPB.

Jaitley said that a roadmap for phasing out with FIPB would be announced in due course.The Foreign Investment Promotion Board offers a single window clearance for applications on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India that are under the approval route. The sectors under automatic route do not require any prior approval from FIPB and are subject to only sectoral laws.

He added that further liberalisation in FDI was under consideration, as the government continues to push its reform agenda for stable and stronger institutions.