India is now a biz friendly nations, say Arun Jaitley.
The move came as the country badly needs capital inflows as the rupee comes under pressure
Taking its protest against FDI to the streets, opposition parties on Wednesday said their fight will go on till they ensure that it is scrapped altogether.
Punjab and Gujarat are in favour of FDI in multi-brand retail in food items while many others have vehemently opposed the idea, a government official said.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as a source of funding has shrunk to a trickle for the once lucrative telecom sector with foreign investment inflows plunging to $43 million in the April-September period of the current fiscal.
Tesco, which has a franchise agreement with Trent Hypermarkets for the latter's back-end operations, is believed to be interested in investing in those hypermarkets
In the cacophony of debates on the wisdom of liberalising retail foreign direct investment, or FDI, one viewpoint was noticeably absent: whether and how this might affect India's strategic interests.
Consensus eluded an all-party meeting called on FDI issue on Monday even as Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party provided comfort to the government by not insisting on voting and Trinamool Congress springing a surprise by speaking in a similar tone.
Bharatiya Janata Party, Communist Party of India and Janata Dal-United on Tuesday come together to launch a national campaign against FDI in retail and sought support from the people to make the movement against the government's "anti-people" policy a success.
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The new Insurance Bill may be implemented in 2015.
Terming the prime minister's address to the nation on September 21 as "most laughable", Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray said Manmohan Singh has "shamelessly" defended Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in retail and rise in diesel prices.
A government panel on Tuesday proposed raising foreign investment limits in sectors like defence, multi-brand retail and telecommunications, to spur investment in the country and tide over the Current Account Deficit woes.
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.
The Eleventh Plan draft document has built a strong case for relaxing foreign direct investment norms in key sectors like insurance, private banking, single brand retailing and broadcasting. The draft would be discussed at full Planning Commission panel meeting on Thursday.
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.
The deadlock in Parliament over Foreign Direct Investment in retail and several other issues continued for the ninth day on Friday with the opposition and some members of United Progressive Alliance partner Trinamool Congress creating uproar in both Houses to press for their demands. Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned minutes after they met for the day.
For the first time in the history of Rajya Sabha, its chairman and Vice President Hamid Ansari has permitted All India Anna Dravida Munetra Kazhagam -- a regional political party to initiate the FDI in retail discussion in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
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.
Currently, 100 per cent FDI is permitted in brownfield pharma firms through clearance from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board.
China and India continue to rank first and second respectively in the list of 25 most attractive FDI destinations, according to a study conducted by a global strategic management consulting firm.Brazil, the United Arab Emirates and Russia ranked among the top 10, the findings of the latest FDI Confidence index, a regular survey of global executives conducted by management consulting firm, A T Kearney, revealed.
FIPB had taken up these three proposals in its meeting in August, but the decision on them was kept in abeyance.
SBI has the largest exposure of Rs 1,500 crore (Rs 15 billion) to the airline which has not been serviced since this January.
The 2014 survey, which polled 502 global executives from companies with international presence, showed the majority of respondents were considering increasing their presence in India.
Gadkari said, infrastructure sector including highways, airports, inland waterways, railways, logistic parks, broad gauge and metro, apart from MSMEs can attract large scale foreign investment.
The United Progressive Alliance government had opened the multi-brand retail sector for foreign investment and allowed up to 51 per cent foreign direct investment in the sector.
Ten states and Union Territories have endorsed the Centre's decision to allow FDI in multi-brand retail, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Monday.
In 2012, India attracted $22.78 billion of FDI, according to the data by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.
The Enforcement Directorate, which probed the alleged contravention of foreign exchange laws by Walmart in its investments in domestic supermarket chain Bharti Enterprises, has found no violation of FDI guidelines by the US multinational retail giant.
Trinamool Congress Monday said Left's failure to support a no confidence motion to be brought by it in winter session will mean that their opposition to FDI in multi-brand retail "is false and sham" and voiced hope that all parties would come on board.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday played down the remark made by Shiromani Akali Dal leader and Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on backing Foreign Direct Investment in retail if the United Progressive Alliance government addresses the concerns of traders.
FDI inflows into the country have been declining over the past two years despite policy easing in about a dozen sectors.
"We are seriously considering raising the bar further- that means to allow increased FDI," Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said at a CII event on Indian luxury market.
A Cabinet minister tells Sheela Bhatt that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has taken a gamble on the FDI in retail issue and insists that the Congress party is with him.
A Cabinet minister tells Sheela Bhatt that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has taken a gamble on the FDI in retail issue and insists that the Congress party is with him.
The Delhi high court on Friday sought the stand of news portal NewsClick and its editor-in-chief on a plea by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seeking vacation of an earlier order granting them protection from coercive action in a money laundering case.
"We have close to about 175 press notes circulating... the Industry Ministry has taken a decision to put all of these together in a booklet so that the FDI rules become much simpler for a foreign investor."
The net FDI for 2006-07 would be around $9 billion, up from $4.7 billion last year, the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council said in its update on the country's balance of payments outlook for this fiscal.
28 private sector companies are having FDI varying up to 26 per cent.
It also plans to open 5 new centres across India in addition to its two fulfilment centres (FCs) in Mumbai and Bangalore.
The new Consolidated Foreign Direct Investment Policy, effective from April 1, limits FDI in defence units to 26 per cent. But the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion of the commerce ministry is in favour of raising this limit.
