Ten days after the government put disinvestment of oil firms on the backburner, the Union Cabinet today dithered on allowing higher foreign investment in three major sectors: aviation, telecommunications and insurance. It has now asked the group of ministers on foreign investment to take a comprehensive view of the N K Singh Committee report.
The 90-minute Cabinet meeting considered the proposal, but put the onus on the group of ministers headed by finance and company affairs minister Jaswant Singh. The panel will now meet on September 28 and discuss foreign direct investment in its entirety, including the three specific proposals. It will also consider the views of the ministries concerned.