New Delhi: The Union cabinet on Wednesday decided to abolish the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) and approved strategic defence partnerships to boost local manufacturing.
Announcing the decisions at a press briefing after the cabinet meeting Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the decision to abolish the FIPB meant that around 90% of foreign direct investment (FDI) would be automatically approved. However, there are still 11 sectors where government approval for FDI is required.
The FIPB was established in the early 1990s after liberalization to expedite investment for an economy that was opening up to the world. The FIPB was part of the Department of Economic Affairs in the Finance Ministry and consisted of secretaries from various departments. Now, FDI proposals will be handled directly by the concerned ministries in consultation with the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.
The other major decision was in the area of defence production, where the government will effectively select Indian companies under the “strategic partnership” programme to partner with foreign companies to manufacture equipment in India.
"For each platform, one private sector strategic partner will be chosen," Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said at the briefing.
India is one of the largest importers of arms and ammunition and is keen to manufacture domestically to cut its import bill and boost local manufacturing, as well as become self reliant in defence production.
Comments
0 comment