The government has not made any amendments to the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy for countries sharing land border with India, sources said on Wednesday. In 2020, the government issued Press Note 3 under which investors from these land bordering countries have to mandatorily take prior approval of the government for making investments in any sector.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in India rose 18 per cent to $35.18 billion during April-September this fiscal year, while the inflow from the US more than doubled to $6.62 billion during the first half of this fiscal, according to government data released on Monday. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) during April-September FY24 stood at $29.79 billion.
The government has identified critical sectors, including electronics, chemicals, leather and footwear, and toys, where value chains can be strengthened to facilitate and drive foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country. Invest India, the investment promotion and facilitating agency under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), has been actively identifying key value chains to focus on.
As many as 2.17 lakh pieces of fake notes of various denominations were detected during 2024-25 compared to 2.23 lakh such notes in the previous year, Parliament was informed on Monday. Of this, highest -- 117,722 pieces -- counterfeit notes of 500 [MG (New) Series] were detected in FY25, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.
The government is working towards further review and simplification of the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy to facilitate the proposed initial public offering (IPO) of the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) secretary Anurag Jain said on Thursday. The final decision will be taken by the Cabinet. The industry department is working together with the finance ministry's department of financial services (DFS) and department of investment and public asset management (DIPAM) towards a successful listing of the life insurer on the domestic bourses, which is expected to be the largest in India.
The resilience of the economy and strength of domestic demand will continue to make India an engine of growth amid the rapidly evolving global trade landscape as a result of US tariffs, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in London on Tuesday.
Govt moves to bring in more clarity on definition of 'control'.
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) representing 70 million traders has written to Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, drawing his attention to the alleged violations of laws and regulations by quick commerce (qcom) companies.
He said with an aim to make the FDI policy user friendly, all prior regulations and guidelines have been consolidated into a comprehensive document.
The move comes in the backdrop of a slowdown in the foreign direct investments and its impact on the current account deficit.
Sources say the Mark Zuckerberg-led company wants to ensure there are no issues in its investment in the subsidiary of Reliance Industries and has roped in one of the Big Four consultancy firms to advise it on how the new "beneficial ownership" norms would apply to the proposed investment in Jio.
The government would try to minimise layers in FDI ceilings.
The government will release the revised consolidated FDI policy paper, a ready reckoner on foreign investment related regulations for overseas investors, on September 30.
The government must review its policy to allow foreign direct investment up to 24 per cent in the small and medium scale enterprises, and ensuring better credit facility and technology financing to make them globally competitive.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday said the government is considering further liberalisation of the country's foreign direct investment policy for attracting investment in the infrastructure sector.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into India have crossed the $1 trillion milestone in the April 2000-September 2024 period, firmly establishing the country's reputation as a safe and key investment destination globally. According to data from the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), the cumulative amount of FDI, including equity, reinvested earnings and other capital, stood at $1,033.40 billion during the said period.
Despite public-private partnership projects announced in several rail budgets, the investment since 2000 has been merely Rs 3,000 crore.
The department of industrial policy and promotion, nodal agency for FDI policy under the ministry of commerce and industry, seems to have prepared a note for the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs to consider.
According to the Press Notes 2, 3 and 4 of the department of industrial policy and promotion, for a company or entity to be treated as Indian, foreign investment, including American and global depository receipts, foreign currency convertible bonds, convertible preference shares and from non-resident Indians, in it should be less than 50 per cent.
The apex court asked Reserve Bank of India to amend Foreign Exchange Management Act regulations within two weeks to allow implementation of FDI in retail sector.
FDI inflows into the country have been declining over the past two years despite policy easing in about a dozen sectors.
FDI into the country increased by 30 per cent to $21.62 billion during April-September this fiscal.
The revised version of the FDI policy, which will be released on March 31, is expected to do away with Press Note 1, 2005, to bring in the above-mentioned change.
'As much as $4 billion in India's start-up companies has come from Chinese funds.' 'Government policy must not remain indifferent to the problems India's start-up ventures are likely to face after the change in FDI rules,' says A K Bhattacharya.
Bentonville-based Walmart has also raised apprehensions about the ongoing probe by investigating agency Enforcement Directorate, said an internal note of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.
A day after lambasting e-commerce players for predatory pricing, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said he is not against online platforms but India wants such entities to be "fair and honest" in their conduct. Speaking with reporters in the financial capital, the outspoken Union minister said the rule of the law should be followed in letter and spirit, and made it clear that consumer preferences should not be influenced by algorithms.
Despite the robust growth in this country, Apple's India share in its overall global sales remained modest -- constituting 1.5 per cent of its overall turnover of $389 billion in FY23.
Sharma proposes to pass on the 'handover note' to his successor, which as per the poll projections is likely to be from Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance.
'India needs many more job creators, both in manufacturing and services, to make it big.' 'For that, the red carpet must be rolled out fully and for all investors without holding back,' suggests Nivedita Mookerji.
'I found it unbelievable that L&T said 45,000 jobs were waiting to be filled because of unavailability of suitable skillsets.' 'So, when the Opposition sweepingly says there are no jobs, I'm sorry... I'm not saying it's raining jobs, but there are jobs. The (skill) gap has to be bridged.'
Prices may go up because of higher energy costs, caused by the rise in shipping charges, with commercial vessels taking a longer route to avoid the troubled Red Sea region, the finance ministry said on Monday. Iran-backed Houthi rebels of Yemen are repeatedly attacking ships in the Red Sea. While the global economy is grappling with challenges such as sticky inflation, sluggish growth, and mounting fiscal pressure, India's external sector could face "potential risks" due to the ongoing geopolitical tensions, according to the finance ministry's report on the review of the Indian economy.
With EU, it is part of the FTA that we will need to negotiate.
The BJP lost 15 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in 2019. Union ministers have been deployed in all 15, tasked with turning the result around.
India's largest traders' association CAIT on Tuesday said few multinational e-commerce giants with a heavy arsenal of funding are attempting to flout foreign investment guidelines for the sector and demanded strict enforcement action. Releasing a whitepaper on the e-commerce policy, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said e-commerce entities have "structured their relationship as marketplace with sellers in a such a way that they are in a position to control either seller on their platform or the inventory and also escape the scrutiny of the enforcement agencies." "Under the guise of such control or ownership over sellers, the issue also permeates from being a mere FDI policy violation to also being an anti-competitive conduct," it said.
The government has amended rules of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), paving the way for up to 20 per cent foreign direct investment in the insurance behemoth LIC. The government is planning to dilute its stake in LIC through the the Initial Public Offering (IPO). LIC in February had filed the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) before the markets regulator Sebi for the IPO.
The Union government is likely to come out with a liberalised foreign direct investment policy in a bid to make foreign investment an engine of growth and create large-scale employment.
Domestic traders body CAIT on Thursday claimed that e-commerce major Amazon's plan to acquire Prione Business Services - its joint venture firm with Catamaran - will be a violation of foreign direct investment policy. Amazon has said it will acquire Prione Business Services, subject to requisite regulatory approvals. In August, Amazon and NR Narayana Murthy's Catamaran had announced that they will not continue their joint venture Prione Business Services beyond May 2022.
In a major relaxation of foreign investment rules in the pharma sector, a special group set up under the finance ministry has suggested it could consider permitting up to 49 per cent FDI (foreign direct investment) in the automatic route for brownfield investments in case the company's control remained in Indian hands.
Opposition members created an uproar in both Houses of Parliament on Monday over issues like allowing 51 per cent Foreign Direct Investment in multi-brand retail, demand for Telangana state and threat to people of Kerala due to Mullaperiyar dam.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances