The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's remarks that those who oppose Foreign Direct Investment in retail are "ignorant", saying it is not the Opposition which is ignorant, but the United Progressive Alliance government and the Congress Party.
A ministerial panel on Thursday urged the government to raise foreign direct investment caps in a host of sectors including telecom, petroleum and civil aviation as part of a move to liberalise the economy.
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India's foreign direct investment inflows during the calendar year 2002 increased by a mere 3.5 per cent at $4.43 billion despite the government's continued efforts to liberalise the economy.\n\n\n\n
The much-talked-about sale of Ambuja Cement and ACC by Holcim Group will see the single-biggest outflow of foreign capital from the country if the two cement firms are acquired by Indian investors. The deal, valued at nearly $10.35 billion, will put in the shade Cairn Energy Plc's exit from India in 2010, when it sold Cairn India to Vedanta Group for $4.48 billion. According to various reports, big business groups such as AV Birla, JSW Group, and Adani Group are in the fray to acquire Holcim's assets in India.
Broad consensus is emerging within a Group of Ministers chaired by finance and external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee on a proposal seeking comprehensive changes in the foreign direct investment policy. This includes scrapping automatic approval in sectors that have FDI limits and in which ownership or control is shifting to a foreign company, and a new definition for calculating indirect foreign equity.
Amid a debate within the government on allowing foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail, the nodal consumer affairs ministry is insisting on a foreign direct investment cap of 49 per cent in the sensitive sector, sources said.
The mood in the government seems to have hardened and they do not seem to be in a mood to budge on the issue. Prime Minister Mamhohan Singh indicated as much during his speech at a Youth Congress meet in the capital on Tuesday.
Accusing the opposition of spreading misinformation regarding policy initiatives taken by the United Progressive Alliance government, a combative Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday said reform measures, including FDI in retail, will benefit the common man and create more jobs.
The government on Wednesday said provisions of Press Note 2 (2005 series), which allowed 100 per cent foreign direct investment in townships
Why the Union Cabinet was so impatient to allow FDI in multi-brand retail flummoxed many.
The government is likely to allow FDI in high speed trains and other projects.
India on Tuesday mooted a marketing policy for the sector though domestic players opposed any move to allow overseas investments in the retail space.
The real estate industry is divided over the impact of the proposed foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail.
Observing that India has a low foodgrain productivity and inefficient distribution, he said increasing the scale of investments in organised retail is one way to increase productivity and distribution efficiency.
As Parliament on Tuesday began discussing Foreign Direct Investment in retail under a rule entailing voting, the Congress did not hide its displeasure over the "unhealthy precedent" that an executive decision has been put up for legislative vote.
The FDI announcements made by the government in multi-brand retail, single-brand retail, aviation sector and broadcast sector are expected to change the landscape of the respective industry.
Fissures in the opposition over Foreign Direct Investment in retail came to government's aid Thursday as the opening day of Parliament's winter session was washed out and Trinamool Congress' move for a no-confidence motion flopped.
The two major railway unions have proposed to the government an unprecedented alternative to privatisation or inviting foreign investment, to help raise funds and improve revenue.
Says allow companies with up to 49% FDI to invest in restricted sectors.
Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma has been in news for his statement "inflation helps farmers". He talks about why he stands by his statement and how FDI in retail would set right prices for both agriculturalists and consumers.
Ten states and Union Territories had endorsed FDI in the sector by August 13.
FDI in real estate will now be through the automatic route and not through the Foreign Investment Promotion Board.
A Parliamentary panel that went into a Bill to create a pension fund regulator has favoured 26 per cent FDI in the sector, but found many lacunae in the legislation.
Japan on Tuesday said the labour unrest at Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India could impact foreign direct investment inflows into India, but ruled out its intervention in the matter.
The apex court asked Reserve Bank of India to amend Foreign Exchange Management Act regulations within two weeks to allow implementation of FDI in retail sector.
Although UPA government has somehow managed to scuttle Opposition's stiff antagonism to FDI in multi-brand retail in both the Houses of the Parliament, it has certainly opened itself to the charge of being a minority government, analyses Renu Mittal.
Apprehending that the Samajwadi Party and the BGahujan Samaj Party would bail out the United Progressive Alliane on FDI in retail, the opposition in Lok Sabha on Wednesday warned these parties as also Dravida Munetra Kazhagam that history will not pardon them if they sided with the government on the issue despite opposing it during the nationwide protest.
Faced with a deadlock in Parliament over FDI in retail, Government has convened an all-party meeting in New Delhi on Monday as the Left and the Right have remained adamant on discussion under a rule that entails voting.
The government on Friday approved 32 foreign direct investment proposals worth Rs 181.16 crore (Rs 1.81 billion).
Anand Sharma said the Rs 2,060-crore Jet-Etihad deal falls in line with new 'control' definition.
The issue of Foreign Direct Investment in retail is expected to generate a storm in the Winter Session of Parliament beginning next week, with the Left parties on Friday announcing their decision to move motions entailing voting to oppose the government's decision.
The federal probe agency has also called for documents and the recording of statements of some company executives under provisions of the FEMA, they said.
A proposal to permit foreign airlines to pick up stake in domestic carriers is among the several measures being considered by the government to help the Indian aviation industry overcome the financial crunch.
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