After coming out of CBI headquarters in New Delhi, Chidambaram said he had appeared before the CBI and the first information report did not contain any allegations against him.
The agency recorded his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act with some specific queries on the circumstances and procedures adopted by the now-defunct Foreign Investment Promotion Board while giving approval to the Aircel-Maxis deal during his tenure.
This is the second time the former finance minister has got relief from arrest.
She said during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha that Bharatiya Janata Party got a massive mandate on the basis of its election manifesto which opposes FDI in multi-brand retail.
Against the backdrop of objections by some MPs, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh on Tuesday strongly defended the Rs 2,058 crore (Rs 20.58 billion) Jet-Etihad deal, saying those opposing it were "long on politics and short on facts".
Chidambaram and his son Karti were named in the chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the case on July 19.
In a reversal of its recommendations made in April 2008, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India whittled the increase it had suggested then in the foreign direct investment cap for companies set up to uplink television news channels, as well as in FM radio.
If convicted, the offences entail a maximum punishment of seven years.
The CBI had summoned Karti to appear before it on October 4.
The finance ministry is understood to have turned down, for the second time, a proposal of Jaipur IPL Cricket (JIPL), the joint owners of the Rajasthan Royals IPL team, to transfer its entire equity abroad in a cashless transaction.
ATC, through Transcend, had entered into a definitive share purchase agreement with three companies of the Essar Group to acquire the entire issued share capital of Essar Telecom Infrastructure Private Ltd.
"There could be a slight delay in getting the approval from SEBI, so there could be few days delay in starting the open offer but we are still on target to complete this transaction by middle of December."
The move comes after CBI gets sanction to prosecute him in Aircel-Maxis case
Chidambaram has sought interim bail in the INX media money laundering case on medical grounds, saying his condition is deteriorating and he needs to be in a sterile environment.
Justice A K Pathak had asked Chidambaram to join questioning and cooperate in the investigation as and when called by the CBI.
Tata Motors subsidiary Telco Construction Equipment Company Ltd (Telcon) has opposed a proposal to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) from John Deere for a joint venture with Ashok Leyland to distribute and market its construction equipment in India.
Tusk Investment, Mauritius, a wholly owned subsidiary of private equity firm Elephant Capital, has sought approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to acquire a 30 per cent stake in Amar Chitra Katha Pvt Ltd (ACK).
FIPB may be asked to vet downstream projects.
The court had also directed Chidambaram to cooperate with the investigation in both the cases as and when required.
The proposed FDI of Rs 503.37 crore (Rs 5.03 billion) by ArcelorMittal, Netherlands, has been approved by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board, the finance ministry said in New Delhi.
The trial court had earlier said that the allegations against Chidambaram were found serious, therefore, he was remanded to police custody.
Jaitley said the raids have been carried out only after identifying a substantial reason.
In a show-cause notice, the information and broadcasting ministry asked Bharti Telemedia to furnish explanation failing which the government could consider suspending the licence till such time the company obtains necessary approvals from FIPB and meet the eligibility conditions. A Bharti spokesperson said the company has complied to all licence conditions in its DTH venture and the same has been communicated to the government.
Chidambaram, who was accompanied by police personnel in the police bus, was put in a special cell in the Asia's biggest prison complex as per the orders of the CBI court.
A separate clearance will now be required from the finance ministry's revenue department, according to an official clarification issued earlier this week. The clarification assumes importance in the backdrop of increasing cases where FDI proposals have been opposed by the revenue department due to concerns over revenue losses.
The ED had filed the first chargesheet in the case against Chidambaram's son Karti; later, a supplementary chargesheet was also filed against him.
Besides doubts relating to round tripping of investments through Mauritius, the proposal was earlier rejected on the ground that there were no details about the offshore entity.
He said the plea pertained to his liberty, which was 'illegally curtailed'.
The CBI and the ED said that new material has been recovered which needs to be collated.
Shares of Ranbaxy Lab and Sun Pharma on Tuesday gained as much as 4 per cent after the drug-makers got CCI's approval for their long-pending $4-billion merger.
Country's largest realty firm DLF, which has tied up with Dubai-based developer Limitless for developing Rs 60,000-crore (Rs 600 billion) township in Bangalore, has sought government approval for bringing in foreign direct investments worth $ 150 million. Official sources said the issue would be taken by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) on Friday, adding it is likely to get approval. The foreign investment proposal would be given the final clearance by the FM.
The health ministry plans to oppose the application from Japan Tobacco International Ltd, the world's third largest tobacco company, to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board to raise its stake in its Indian venture from 50 to 74 per cent. The application is slated for consideration in the FIPB meeting on Tuesday.
After 11 years of hanging like a sword on PepsiCo India Holdings Ltd, the government's condition that the company must dilute its equity in fully-owned downstream ventures is close to being waived.
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Single-brand retailers are also allowed to take e-commerce route for such trading.
Danish beer giant Carlsberg is looking at increasing investments in manufacturing and distribution in India.
DaimlerChrysler plans to buy 26% of the bus body builder Sutlej Motors. The two companies will then jointly manufacture buses for the Indian roads.
Tata Motors is likely to have one more achievement to cheer about as it gets into the new financial year, when Thailand's Board of Investment (BoI) approves the company's proposal to make an eco-car. A BoI official in Bangkok told Business Standard that the internal approval meeting, scheduled for April 2, 2008, was likely to give its nod to India's third largest passenger car maker to manufacture the eco-car.
Undeterred by the controversy surrounding its acquisition of Hutch-Essar, Vodafone asserted on Monday it was fully compliant with the foreign direct investment regulations as it had 'only stepped into the shoes of Hutchison Telecom.'
The FIPB referred the matter to the law ministry today.
The companies will pick up 20 per cent each in PTC Financial Services, a non-banking finance company (NBFC). The total investments could be Rs 50-60 crore (Rs 500-600 million), including a premium of Rs 3-5 on a face value of Rs 10 a share, according to company executives.
