British household appliance maker Dyson gets FDI approval

Two foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals by British household appliance maker Dyson International and another firm has been approved by the government for single brand retail trading.

The Commerce and Industry Ministry on Tuesday said it has approved FDI proposals by Dyson International which designs and manufactures household appliances such as vacuum cleaners, hand dryers, bladeless fans among other items and employs more than 7,000 people worldwide.

Dyson International got an approval to carry out single brand retail trading of 'Dyson' branded products in India, it said in a statement. The investment envisaged in the range of 5 million to 10 million British pounds.

The company has a website with an Indian domain name already running which has opened a waiting list for prospective customers interested in its products.

Another firm, MM Retail Pvt Ltd also got a post facto approval for FDI pursuant to direction from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). According to Bloomberg, it owns and operates a chain of jewelers and accessories stores for women in India. The company also offers its products online, as well as through other third party portals. MM Retail Pvt Ltd was incorporated in 2007 and is based in Gurgaon, India. It has stores in New Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Chandigarh, among other locations.

The ministry had on Monday said it has rejected two foreign direct investment proposals, including that of Xerox India Ltd.

Xerox India had submitted a proposal for wholesale trading of xerographic equipment, document processing products and global document outsourcing business.

The other application, by Pan Asia Freight Forwarding and Logistics India, was also rejected by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).

Further, a proposal on health studies sector by George Institute for Global Health was closed as no FDI issue was involved. "The applicant has been advised to approach Ministry of Corporate Affairs," the DIPP had said.

The Foreign Investment Facilitation Portal, the succesor mechanism to the erstwhile Foreign Investment Promotion Board is the new online single point interface of the government for investors. It is being administered by the DIPP.

A senior DIPP official said the portal will continue to facilitate the clearance of applications which are through approval route. Upon receipt of the FDI application, the concerned Administrative Ministry/Department shall process the application as per the Standard Operation Procedure (SOP).