In a move aimed at increasing the ambit of Jaswant Singh's powers, the government on Thursday shifted the Foreign Investment Promotion Board to the finance ministry.
The surprise development follows a 30-minute meeting between Singh and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee this evening.
The change would curtail the domain of the newly-appointed Commerce and Industry Minister Arun Jaitley.
The FIPB meetings would continue to be chaired by industry secretary V Govindarajan who would report to the finance minister.
According to senior government sources, Singh's hands have been further strengthened since the finance ministry would be the one-stop shop for directing all foreign investment into the country.
FIPB is the clearance window for overseas investment in all sectors except those where the Reserve Bank of India gives an automatic approval.
It was during the tenure of PV Narasimha Rao in 1990-91 when the FIPB was created and was part of the Prime Minister's Office.
The FIPB was later shifted to the industry ministry when Murasoli Maran took charge under the United Front government in 1996-97.
The shifting of FIPB charge to Jaswant Singh would mean that he would handle almost every major policy issues regarding India Inc.
He already holds charge of the department of company affairs along with economic affairs, revenue and expenditure. The omnibus charge reflects the confidence of Vajpayee on Singh.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has been shifted from the home ministry to the Cabinet Secretariat.
This means that the investigative agency would now report to the Prime Minister instead of Home Minister LK Advani.
© 2026