Contesting the US charge that Indian FDI rules are "opaque", Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Tuesday said the country follows a simplified direct investment regime.
Defending its policy of liberalising foreign direct investment in retail, the government confirmed that it would go ahead with its plan to expand its ambit.
The two ministers are believed to have discussed the issue of redefining foreign direct investment and foreign institutional investment to remove ambiguities.
Retail, telecom, media and a host of sectors in which foreign direct investment is restricted stand to gain from changes in FDI policy that the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs cleared on Wednesday linking approvals to the concept of control for the first time.
Nike has about 400 stores in India.
A recent public interest suit in the Supreme Court over foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail may have thrown the industry into a tizzy, but lawyers, constitutional experts and government officials indicate the multi-brand retail FDI policy is unlikely to get derailed over Fema.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in his Budget speech said that India's FDI inflows in 2018-19 grew by 6 per cent to $64.37 billion.
Jaitley evaded vital questions on this issue.
'We may see even more restrictive policies during 2.0.'
In a major policy reversal, the AAP government wrote to the Centre to withdraw approval given by previous Congress government for FDI in multi-brand retailing in Delhi, saying the entry of global chains such as Walmart and Tesco in India would result in large-scale job losses.
As many as 14 central government services have already been integrated with the e-biz portal.
Ecommerce firms will have it tough as govt turns down FDI proposal.
The approvals would be handled independently by administrative ministries of different sectors.
The main sectors that receive the maximum foreign inflows include services, computer software and hardware, telecommunications, trading, construction, automobile, and power.
The draft favoured up to 49 per cent foreign equity in inventory model in the case of 100 per cent made in India products sold through Indian management-controlled platforms with resident Indian founders/promoters.
FDI is essentially long-term investments that come with added benefits such as better technology, management and marketing assistance, says the study.
The commerce and industry ministry has informed the Prime Minister's Office that the Bharti Group has conveyed to the government that its joint venture with Wal-Mart was in compliance with the existing FDI policy.
The department of telecom has rejected any suggestion to put 74 per cent foreign direct investment under the automatic route saying it is not feasible on account of national interest.
He said policy could not be rigid, while declining to say by when FDI in multi-brand retail would be allowed.
Leading corporate lawyers and accounting firms have swung into action to interpret the grey areas in the multi-brand retail FDI policy and suggest follow-up action to clients before they start striking deals.
The government on Thursday permitted 100 per cent foreign investment under the automatic route in oil and gas PSUs which have received in-principle approval for strategic divestment. The move would facilitate privatisation of India's second biggest oil refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL). The government is privatising BPCL and selling its entire 52.98 per cent stake in the company.
Brendan Lynch, the assistant US trade representative for South and Central Asia, will pay a five-day visit to India beginning Tuesday, days before US President Donald Trump's tit-for-tat tariff kicks in. The senior US trade official is expected to hold talks with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal besides meeting a number of senior Indian officials.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in India declined by about 15 per cent to $12.6 billion (Rs 74,971 crore) during April-October this year, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.
Ask rediffGURU and PF expert Milind Vadjikar your insurance, stocks, mutual fund and personal finance-related questions.
Walmart is happy with its current partnership with Bharti.
It has brought down the minimum capital requirement to $5 million from $10 million.
No one's quite sure on the retail FDI issue in this regard, after the new Rajasthan and Delhi governments cancelled the approvals given by their predecessors
Ruling out any rollback of the policy to allow foreign investment in multi-brand retail in the country, the government on Thursday said it would issue the guidelines in due course.
The Indian economy could remain less affected by global trade wars than other countries because the two engines of domestic growth - consumption and investment - are likely to face a limited impact from such headwinds, according to an article on the 'State of the Economy' in the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) bulletin, released on Tuesday.
Opposition MPs in India's Rajya Sabha raised concerns about US President Donald Trump's tariff threats, demanding the government clarify its response and engage in discussions with opposition parties. Leaders like P Chidambaram and Sagarika Ghose warned of potential economic repercussions, including depressed exports, lower FDI, and a significant tariff burden. The debate also touched on other issues such as the government's economic policies, demonetization, and the impact of GST on common citizens.
The Commerce and Industry Ministry has circulated a draft Cabinet note for inter-ministerial consultations.
Overall foreign inflows into the country grew by 8 per cent to $ 24.29 in the last fiscal as against $ 22.42 billion in 2012-13.
India is now a biz friendly nations, say Arun Jaitley.
A day after lambasting e-commerce players for predatory pricing, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said he is not against online platforms but India wants such entities to be "fair and honest" in their conduct. Speaking with reporters in the financial capital, the outspoken Union minister said the rule of the law should be followed in letter and spirit, and made it clear that consumer preferences should not be influenced by algorithms.
'We are allowing FDI on the terms of the investors, multinationals.' 'We bow down to whatever they say.' 'When they say you open this sector, we open that sector.'
Citing security concerns the Home Ministry has opposed hike in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) caps in sectors like aviation and telecom, Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
"These latest so-called 'Liberation Day' tariffs are reckless and self-destructive, inflicting financial pain on Illinois at a time when people are already struggling to keep their small businesses afloat and put food on the table."
Delhi's Industry Secretary Amit Yadav told PTI that the city government has communicated its decision to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion of the government.
The overall FDI policy landscape is changing and can do so faster, says
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