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.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday sprung a surprise for the UPA-II and more so for Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who is championing the cause of Foreign Direct Investment, when it released a letter dated December 21, 2002, in which the prime minister had opposed FDI.
Following the government move to allow FDI policy in the civil aviation sector, Chairman of debt-ridden Kingfisher Airlines Vijay Mallya on Wednesday said the carrier was in talks with foreign airlines.
JP Morgan's decision last week to include Indian government bonds in its Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets (GBI-EM) index and the index suite from June 2024 may be a sort of blessing for India, as the move is estimated to result in an inflow of $25 billion of foreign portfolio investments into the country. The development comes at a time when the spread between the benchmark 10-year government of India bond and the 10-year US government bond has declined to its lowest level in more than 17 years. Low yield spreads make Indian bonds less attractive to foreign portfolio investors (FPIs).
The Union Cabinet on Thursday deferred a decision on a proposal to allow FDI in construction sector.
As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi launched an attack on parties opposing FDI in retail and other measures, CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat said FDI will be the central issue in the coming session.
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The report comes at a time when the government is trying to clear pending FDI proposals, which include various planned investments in this sector.
After supermarket giant Walmart, it is online retail major Amazon which has begun lobbying with the US lawmakers to seek their support for facilitating its "foreign direct investment in India".
Voting will be held in the Rajya Sabha on Friday on the Bharatiya Janata Party's motion opposing the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance Government's move to allow Foreign Direct Investment in multi-brand retail.
Commerce Minister Anand Sharma on Monday expressed optimism that the total FDI inflows this fiscal will the same as in the previous year's at $27 billion.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday reached out to Jayalalithaa-led All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam to seek its support on the issue of foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail.
The meeting came against the backdrop of members of DMK and Trinamool Congress joining opposition in demanding rollback and a discussion in Parliament under an adjournment motion.
The report -- World Investment and Political Risk -- which was launched by the World Bank's Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency said the net FDI inflows into the developing countries is projected to touch $416 billion in 2010, up from its 2009 level of $354 billion.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in India declined sharply for the second month in a row in Maywith inflows slipping to $1.32 billion from $4.66 billion in the year-ago period, reflecting the impact of slowing global economy.
Contrary to Modi's claim of the state being the largest beneficiary of Foreign Direct Investment, Gujarat has received only $8 billion of foreign investment during the 13-year period beginning 2000, according to the Union Minister.
The decision to allow 51 per cent foreign direct investments in multi-brand retail has been put on hold by the government following strong objections from the Opposition and key United Progressive Alliance allies Trinamool Congress and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
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.
India is one of the largest defence importers.
Why is the Bharatiya Janata Party opposed to FDI in retail? A day after promising to scrap FDI in retail, the BJP set about fine-tuning its line to ensure it did not fall foul of the middle-class.
India and China are emerging as significant sources of foreign direct investment in Africa even as the overall percentage of FDI from Asian countries targeted towards the continent remains low, the United Nations has said.
Seeking to dismiss reports of differences in NDA over FDI in multi-brand retail, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday said it was opposed to the decision in toto and indicated that it will scrap the policy if it comes to power.
In July 2011, the country had received foreign investment worth $1.10 billion.
Accusing the United Progressive Alliance government of "heaping hardships on people," Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa flayed its "knee-jerk" reaction of increasing Foreign Direct Investment cap in different sectors and warned that its "insensitivity" towards people will take its toll soon.
The US companies have huge interest in investing in high-tech commerce in India, which has the advantage of large human capital, David C Mulford, US Ambassador to India, said on Tuesday.
With Trinamool's 72-hour deadline to the Centre to rollback diesel price hike, LPG subsidy cap and FDI in multi-brand retail coming to an end, opposition JD-U on Monday sought to reach out to Mamata Banerjee saying that she "sticks" to her stand.
Defence Minister A K Antony has shot down Commerce Ministry's proposal to raise Foreign Direct Investment in defence from 26 per cent to 49 per cent, saying it will be a "retrograde" step and "stymie" the growth of the domestic industry while increasing dependence on foreign manufacturers.
Talks are underway to allow banks from both the countries to open branches in each other's territory.
India has not made the giant leap that was needed.
During Abe's tenure, Japan had announced support for a number of major projects. These included the bullet train project between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, besides allocations for a freight corridor between Mumbai and New Delhi.
Another roadblock to be removed from FDI path; Load on insurance chest.
The move to delink the FDI provisions from investments by foreign institutional investors in real estate under the portfolio investment scheme was expected to lead to greater stock market play in real estate scrips. Government sources said the clarification was not mentioned in the minutes of the Cabinet meeting sent to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion recently. As a consequence, a press note could not be issued.
Enthused by 174 per cent growth in services trade this year, India is readying to make an aggressive offer in the WTO negotiations on services.
Floats discussion paper for stakeholders' feedback with a deadline of January 28.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) into India saw a whopping 310 per cent increase in June to $5.65 billion, the highest monthly inflow in the last 11 financial years, indicating the revival of investor confidence in the Indian economy.
The Enforcement Directorate has arrested four persons including the MD of the Lava International mobile company and a Chinese national as part of its ongoing money-laundering probe against Chinese smartphone-maker Vivo, official sources said on Tuesday. They identified the four as Hari Om Rai, the MD of Lava International company, Chinese national Guangwen Kyang, chartered accountant Nitin Garg and a person called Rajan Malik. They have been taken into custody under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Opposing a government-panel proposal to hike FDI limit in multi-brand retail, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Wednesday said such a move will hurt interest of small traders and mostly benefit large corporates.
China's FDI during the first quarter was $43.8 billion, while FDI in the US fell by 60 per cent from a year earlier to $46.1 billion during the same period, leaving a gap of $2.3 billion.
The deadlock over foreign direct investment in the retail sector continues as government officials on Tuesday informed parties opposing FDI that they will discuss their demands with the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
At present, FDI in multi-brand retail is prohibited in India. However, the government allows 51 per cent FDI in single brand retailing and 100 per cent in wholesale trade.
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