Broad consensus is emerging within a Group of Ministers chaired by finance and external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee on a proposal seeking comprehensive changes in the foreign direct investment policy. This includes scrapping automatic approval in sectors that have FDI limits and in which ownership or control is shifting to a foreign company, and a new definition for calculating indirect foreign equity.
India on Tuesday mooted a marketing policy for the sector though domestic players opposed any move to allow overseas investments in the retail space.
CPI leader D Raja also attacked govt for going back on its assurance to hold consultations with all stakeholders.
Director P Sheshadri talks abut his new film.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's remarks that those who oppose Foreign Direct Investment in retail are "ignorant", saying it is not the Opposition which is ignorant, but the United Progressive Alliance government and the Congress Party.
Amid a debate within the government on allowing foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail, the nodal consumer affairs ministry is insisting on a foreign direct investment cap of 49 per cent in the sensitive sector, sources said.
The mood in the government seems to have hardened and they do not seem to be in a mood to budge on the issue. Prime Minister Mamhohan Singh indicated as much during his speech at a Youth Congress meet in the capital on Tuesday.
FDI in real estate will now be through the automatic route and not through the Foreign Investment Promotion Board.
A Parliamentary panel that went into a Bill to create a pension fund regulator has favoured 26 per cent FDI in the sector, but found many lacunae in the legislation.
Japan on Tuesday said the labour unrest at Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India could impact foreign direct investment inflows into India, but ruled out its intervention in the matter.
Why the Union Cabinet was so impatient to allow FDI in multi-brand retail flummoxed many.
The real estate industry is divided over the impact of the proposed foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail.
Accusing the opposition of spreading misinformation regarding policy initiatives taken by the United Progressive Alliance government, a combative Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday said reform measures, including FDI in retail, will benefit the common man and create more jobs.
The government on Friday approved 32 foreign direct investment proposals worth Rs 181.16 crore (Rs 1.81 billion).
We are already reading and watching news from around the world.
Neither the BJP, nor the Congress before it, made any manifesto commitments on defence spending, even though allocations have plummeted from 4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the late 1980s to less than 2 per cent today, points out Ajai Shukla.
The government is likely to allow FDI in high speed trains and other projects.
China approved 9,582 new foreign-funded companies in first 5 months.
Observing that India has a low foodgrain productivity and inefficient distribution, he said increasing the scale of investments in organised retail is one way to increase productivity and distribution efficiency.
Says allow companies with up to 49% FDI to invest in restricted sectors.
As Parliament on Tuesday began discussing Foreign Direct Investment in retail under a rule entailing voting, the Congress did not hide its displeasure over the "unhealthy precedent" that an executive decision has been put up for legislative vote.
The FDI announcements made by the government in multi-brand retail, single-brand retail, aviation sector and broadcast sector are expected to change the landscape of the respective industry.
Fissures in the opposition over Foreign Direct Investment in retail came to government's aid Thursday as the opening day of Parliament's winter session was washed out and Trinamool Congress' move for a no-confidence motion flopped.
A proposal to permit foreign airlines to pick up stake in domestic carriers is among the several measures being considered by the government to help the Indian aviation industry overcome the financial crunch.
'With China falling out of favour, India is where investors see the demographic and digital dividend apart from the benefits of reforms playing out.' 'Your prime minister has also done a great job of sharing this story with the world.'
Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma has been in news for his statement "inflation helps farmers". He talks about why he stands by his statement and how FDI in retail would set right prices for both agriculturalists and consumers.
Ten states and Union Territories had endorsed FDI in the sector by August 13.
Ministry officials said the matter is being reviewed with the objective of bringing down the FDI cap from 100 per cent to 26 per cent in line with the limit for news media. This decision for the review was taken while discussing the proposal of US-based Dow Jones and Company for setting up a wholly-owned subsidiary to carry out publishing the facsimile edition of Wall Street Journal in India.
The two major railway unions have proposed to the government an unprecedented alternative to privatisation or inviting foreign investment, to help raise funds and improve revenue.
