NEW DELHI: The government may roll out a slew of measures including liberalising FDI norms for NRIs and manufacturing firms to sell products through e-commerce portals to attract more foreign investment in the country, sources said.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has also proposed to increase the value of projects to be cleared by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) from `1,200 crore to `3,000 crore and the introduction of a composite cap, which will include FDI, FII and other instruments in various sectors.
Currently, FDI proposals worth `1,200 crore and below are approved by the FIPB and above that value they need to be approved by the CCEA.
Further, the Ministry may come out with some kind of clarification on single brand retail sector to attract global players.
It may be noted that Swedish furniture major IKEA proposed to invest `10,500 crore for setting up single brand retail stores in the country.
The government has already relaxed overseas investment norms for sectors including railways, defence, construction and medical devices. Similarly, FDI cap in defence and insurance have been increased, while the railways sector have been opened for foreign investment.
Meanwhile, the proposal on composite cap would help in removing ambiguity on application of sectoral caps, conventionalities and approval requirements in different sectors and bring simplification in the foreign investment policy.
To give a boost to ‘Make in India’ campaign, the Ministry would soon seek Cabinet nod on permitting Indian manufactures to sell their goods to consumer through e-commerce portals.
Foreign investments are considered crucial for India, which needs about $1 trillion over five years (2012-17) to overhaul its infrastructure sector such as ports, airports and highways to boost growth.
Sectors, which attracted maximum FDI include services, telecom, metallurgical industries, power, computer hardware & software and construction.
FIPB to Take Up 32 FDIs on April 9
The FIPB, a single window clearance system, headed by Rajiv Mehrishi, Finance Secretary, is lhi: scheduled to meet on April 9 to take up 32 FDI proposals. Foreign investment plans of companies to be considered include Mylan Laboratories, S Kumars Nationwide, BASF Chemical India, Nickeldeon Asia Holdings, Sai Life Sciences Ltd, Maham Nayyar and Sahar Nayyar of Pakistan, Warden Petrochem and Damiani India. In April-January this fiscal, FDI in India rose by 36 per cent year-on-year to $25.52 billion. India allows FDI in most of the sectors through automatic route, but in certain segments considered sensitive for the economy and security, the proposals have to be first cleared by FIPB.