The government is considering to tweak FDI policy in retail sector so as to allow global chains like Walmart, Carrefour and Tesco to open multi-brand stores in non-hilly cities with population less than one million.
A section of traders and hawkers today staged protests in various parts of the country against the government's decision on FDI policy in multi-brand retail, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said.
According to sources, there is a proposal to allow 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment in single brand retail sector "through automatic route" with certain conditions.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in India has declined by six per cent to $5.47 billion during January-March quarter of the current calender year even as government is making efforts to promote the country as an investment destination.
The Election Commission (EC) has raised certain questions on the government's proposal to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in the construction and maintenance segments of the railways.
The government will soon announce a major liberalisation in foreign direct investment policy, hiking the threshold limit in many of the ground handling and support services to 100 per cent.
India on Tuesday mooted a marketing policy for the sector though domestic players opposed any move to allow overseas investments in the retail space.
Gandhi had, on April 12, flagged the issue of alleged takeover of some Indian companies after those became vulnerable in the wake of the economic slowdown.
Access to India's defence market must be made conditional -- available only to those who are ready to make a long-term commitment in India, argues Ajai Shukla.
Government may allow foreign direct investment in "branded and dedicated retail segment" in an attempt to boost investment in employment generating sectors.
The industry is counting minutes and hours in the run-up to the Parliament session on Wednesday, as finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has said any announcement would be made in the House.
Local traders are evaluating other options rather in FDI.
Towards the close of 2013, the finance ministry approved the proposal of UK-based Tesco to invest $110 million in opening up of multi-brand retail stores in the country in partnership with Tata Group firm Trent.
The government on Saturday made its prior approval mandatory for foreign investments from countries that share land border with India to curb 'opportunistic takeovers' of domestic firms following the COVID-19 pandemic, a move which will restrict Foreign Direct Investment from China.
The government said on Thursday said it will make it clear within 10 days whether foreign players be allowed to hold stake in stock exchanges or not.
Currently, 100 per cent FDI is permitted in brownfield pharma firms through clearance from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board.
In June 2012, the country had received FDI worth $1.24 billion.
There has been a decline in foreign direct inflow from China in the last three years, with FDI coming down to USD 163.77 million in 2019-20, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur informed the Lok Sabha on Monday. Giving details of the total foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow from Chinese companies in India, he said, it was USD 350.22 million in 2017-18, while it declined to USD 229 million in the following year.
Foreign Direct Investment into the country declined by about 38 per cent, year-on-year, to $2.91 billion in September, according to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.
India already allows 100 per cent ownership of greenfield pharma businesses.
With former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati voicing certain reservations over FDI policy in its present form, the government on Monday sought to keep the Bahujan Samaj Party in good humour by declaring its commitment to a Constitution Amendment Bill providing for promotions for SC/STs in government jobs.
'An explanation perhaps lies in the culture of revisions that has grown deep roots in the government data collection system,' notes A K Bhattacharya.
The ministry of home affairs has received more than 20 proposals for foreign direct investment (FDI), including from China and Hong Kong, requiring security clearance between April and May. 'We are vetting some of these proposals which have come from various sectors. One of the applications is from a well known start-up,' an official said. 'We await inputs from Research and Analysis Wing, intelligence agencies, external affairs ministry, and embassies.'
'Expect India to keep doing well irrespective of geopolitics.'
As per the current policy, 100 per cent foreign investment is allowed in scheduled air transport service, domestic scheduled passenger airlines and regional air transport
India and the United States will finalize the contours, schedule of negotiations, and terms of reference for a proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) during a three-day meeting beginning Tuesday. The agreement is expected to be finalized in two tranches, with the first phase focusing on goods trade. The US team, led by Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch, will be in India from March 25-29 to discuss the agreement. Both countries are aiming to conclude the first phase of the agreement by fall 2025.
The Modi government's flagship initiative 'Make in India' launched 10 years ago has helped the country boost exports, push investments and promote manufacturing. Under the initiative, launched on September 25, 2014, a series of measures have been taken by the government to boost local manufacturing. These initiatives include the rollout of production linked incentive (PLI) schemes for 14 sectors, easing foreign direct investment (FDI) norms, reducing compliance burden to improve business climate, all approvals through single window, and rolling out of the national logistics policy.
'We face the risk of remaining a low-income country for a very long time unless something changes in the next few years.' 'Instead of constantly talking about becoming a developed economy, we need to start fixing the problems of the economy one by one.' 'There is so much potential, and we are squandering away the opportunity.'
The country's forex reserves touched a record high of $675 billion on August 2, Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Thursday. The previous all-time high for the kitty was $670.857 billion on July 19 this year, and the last reported reserve was $667.386 billion as on July 26. Das said overall, the country's external sector "remains resilient" as indicated by an improvement in key indicators.
A panel led by the secretaries of the DEA and the DIPP would conduct a quarterly review on the pending proposals.
The other sectors where inflows have declined include pharmaceuticals ( $680 million).
Tesco was the first global retailer to apply for multi- brand retailing in India.
Asking the government to tweak FDI norms in multi-brand segment, retailers said sourcing rules must be made similar to that of single brand while demanding foreign firms be allowed to put only 50 per cent of first tranche of investment in back-end infrastructure.
Despite the robust growth in this country, Apple's India share in its overall global sales remained modest -- constituting 1.5 per cent of its overall turnover of $389 billion in FY23.
FDI in the defence sector during 2000-2014 has been a meagre $4.94 billion, despite the total FDI flow into the country across sectors standing at $321.81 billion.
In the aviation sector, 100 per cent FDI is allowed under automatic route for MRO (maintenance, repair, overhaul), ground handling, and aircraft purchase.
In a major policy reversal, the AAP government wrote to the Centre to withdraw the approval given by the previous Sheila Dikshit 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.
'Unsurprisingly, Trump shared Modi's podcast with Fridman on his Truth account.' 'The intentions of Trump, a transactional president, are never easy to tell.' 'We will know in the next fortnight if and when he unfolds reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods, whether Modi's flattering words made any significant difference to Trump's compass,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
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