The move to open multi-brand retail to foreign direct investment may run into rough weather, with key Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states, as well as some constituent parties of the ruling United Progressive Alliance, rejecting or being ambivalent towards the proposed policy.
India's foreign exchange reserves increased to $604 billion as on December 1, surpassing the $600 billion mark after a gap of about four months. The forex reserves were last above the $600 billion mark on August 11 this year. "India's foreign exchange reserves stood at $604 billion as on December 1, 2023.
Facing a possible slowdown in the face of a sluggish growth in developed economies, especially in the US, the Economic Survey on suggested on Thursday a series of reforms including hiking FDI in insurance and retail sector to sustain the 9 per cent rate of economic expansion.
Charging the Indian government with "protectionist thinking", European Union on Monday pitched for hiking the FDI cap in media from the present level of 26 per cent.
FDI inflow of $14.6 billion in the first five months of 2008-09 showed an impressive growth of 124 per cent over the same period last year. Earlier, in October the government had expressed optimism saying India would exceed its target of $35 billion this fiscal. Sectors that attracted maximum FDI in 2007-08 were services, telecom, housing, construction activities, real estate, electrical equipment, computer software and hardware.
The Lok Sabha will on Tuesday take up discussion on the issue of Foreign Direct Investment in multi-brand retail under rule 184 that entails voting.
Senior party leader and member of the national executive committee Yogendra Yadav said that the party had over 1.5 million members and it was only the opinion of the party officer bearers and spokespersons that was relevant.
But completion occupancy certificates to be mandatory.
Foreign direct investment to China touched $60.63 billion in 2004, registering an impressive growth of 13 per cent, the ministry of commerce said in Beijing.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday night hosted a dinner for United Progressive Alliance leaders where the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is understood to have insisted that government should avoid voting in Parliament on FDI in retail, making clear its reservation on the issue.
Demanding withdrawal of the decision, the Communist Party of India said the government had opened up telecom sector when the country was 'yet to overcome the loot and losses due to 2G spectrum scam'.
Big ticket investments by Vodafone and Matsushita Electric lifted FDI inflows in the first half of this fiscal to $7.2 billion, a 65 per cent rise from the year-ago period. India retained its position as the second most preferred destination for global investors as measured by the AT Kearney FDI Confidenx Index, 2007.
In matters of policy, this court will not interfere unless it is unconstitutional, the judge declared.
"We will oppose the decision of the government both at the Centre and by the state governments. The decision of the government would not only affect our domestic retail sector but would also destroy domestic manufacture because the foreign companies would be able to buy products from other countries and flood our markets with imported goods made available at these retail chains," said a senior BJP leader who is among the policy makers in the party.
At a time when the world economy is facing the worst credit freeze in several decades, India attracted $2.7-billion FDI in January, up 58.8 per cent from a year ago, and remained a favourite destination for cross-border investments.
UNCTAD on Wednesday placed India among the top four Asian FDI destinations and said it will get more foreign investment flows as global economy rebounds this year.
Abu Dhabi's International Holding Company, one of the first high-profile investors in billionaire Gautam Adani's conglomerate, has decided to sell its stake in two Adani companies. In a disclosure, IHC said it has "entered into a definitive agreement with a buyer to dispose of its FDI investment in Adani Green Energy Ltd and Adani Transmission Ltd". It, however, did not name the buyer.
Experts say with a stable government, things will start improving but the impact might be visible only after six-12 months.
India received less foreign direct investment in 2010 than the previous year, courtesy a modest recovery in the global economy which reduced the risk and expansion appetite of corporates across the world.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram has approved 18 FDI proposals totalling Rs 1,820.24 crore (Rs 18.20 billion), including Manipal Educational Group's to induct foreign investment of Rs 1,435 crore (Rs 14.35 billion) in a holding company and US-based Freightcar to set up a joint venture for railcars.
'Gujarat is the frontrunner at present.'
'However, Tamil Nadu's robust automobile ecosystem and Telangana's aggressive incentives make them strong contenders.'
Did you miss out on the debates in Lok Sabha on FDI in retail? Read the debate texts here
In July 2010, the country attracted FDI worth $1.78 billion.
China has approved 8,152 new foreign-invested companies over the past four months, a rise of 8.61 per cent year-on-year.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday refused to accept Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's contention -- that no international pressure was behind the decision to allow FDI in multi-brand retail -- and alleged that he has done a U-turn on his own stance earlier.
The Cabinet on Thursday raised the foreign direct investment limit in petroleum sector to 100 per cent.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday said implementation of FDI in multi-brand retail will make India a nation of "sales boys and sales girls" and it hoped to see the end of the United Progressive Alliance government on the issue.
Govt's decision to allow FDI will attract capital, boost confidence and soothe the nerves, say experts.
On the trend of paddy-wheat cycle in Punjab, he said it was not only affecting fertility of the agricultural land, but was also causing depletion of underground water in the state.
Data show leather got just 0.12% of the total FDI inflows during August 1991-March 2007.
The government will draw up FDI guidelines for minor investors and set up an exclusive park for overseas units.
The minister gave an example of how in Kochi, the commercial capital of Kerala, there are shopping complexes and retail stores, but the blooming of such stores had no negative impact on the farmers and traders.
Rakesh Gangwal's holding is considered FDI even though the majority stake in Caelum is held by NRIs
Trai and telecom companies are divided in their views on the issue of raising the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in various media-related activities like cable television, direct-to-home, etc. Trai has proposed across-the-board increase in the FDI limit across cable (49 per cent), DTH (49 per cent), HITS (no existing limit) and satellite radio (no existing limit) to 74 per cent, as allowed in the telecom sector. Companies like Bharti Airtel are supporting this proposal
Fanning the hopes of private industry, the government today said it would consider allowing 49 per cent foreign investment in the defence sector "on a case-to-case basis."
The final guidelines for raising the foreign direct investment ceiling in telecommunications to 74 per cent may be issued soon.
Ahead of the key vote by Hutchison Telecom shareholders on sale of Indian assets to Vodafone, the Hong Kong-based firm and its minority partners in Hutch-Essar have asserted that their investments met foreign direct investment norms
