FDI

Insurance Amendment Bill, which proposes 100 per cent FDI in the insurance sector, may not be introduced in Parliament in the ongoing session, sources said. Some finetuning may be required in the draft Bill after receiving comments from stakeholders, sources said. Given the paucity of time, it is difficult to present the Bill in the ongoing session, sources said, adding it may, however, come in the Budget session. The finance ministry has proposed to amend various provisions of the Insurance Act, of 1938, including raising foreign direct investment (FDI) in the insurance sector to 100 per cent, reduction in paid-up capital, and provision for composite licence. The Department of Financial Services (DFS) has sought public comments on the proposed amendments by December 10. As per the proposal, the FDI limit in Indian insurance companies will be raised from 74 per cent to 100 per cent. This is the second public consultation that the DFS has sought on the proposed amendments to the .

The food processing sector received foreign direct investment (FDI) of USD 368.37 million till September of the current fiscal year, Parliament was informed on Thursday. Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Ravneet Singh Bittu in a written reply to the Lok Sabha said, Ireland invested USD 83.84 million, Singapore USD 48.45 million, Mauritius USD 41.65 million, the United States USD 38.60 million, Australia USD 20.18 million, and Mexico USD 9.59 million in April-September FY25. In FY24, FDI in food processing was USD 608.31 million. The sector is being promoted through Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana, Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry, and Pradhan Mantri Formalization of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme.

Foreign direct investment in India rose by 45 per cent year-on-year to USD 29.79 billion in April-September this fiscal on healthy inflows in services, computer, telecom and pharma sectors, according to government data. FDI inflows were at USD 20.5 billion in April-September 2023-24. In the July-September quarter, the inflows grew by about 43 per cent year-on-year to USD 13.6 billion against USD 9.52 billion in the same quarter last fiscal. The foreign direct investment in India was up 47.8 per cent to USD 16.17 billion in the April-June quarter. Total FDI, which includes equity inflows, reinvested earnings and other capital, grew by 28 per cent to USD 42.1 billion during the first half of this fiscal from USD 33.12 billion in April-September 2023-24, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) data showed. During the April-September period this financial year, FDI equity inflows rose from major countries, including Mauritius (USD 5.34 billion against USD 2

The finance ministry has proposed to amend various provisions of the Insurance Act, 1938, including raising foreign direct investment (FDI) in insurance sector to 100 per cent, reduction in paid-up capital, and provision for composite licence. The Department of Financial Services (DFS) has sought public comments on the proposed amendments by December 10. As per the proposal, the FDI limit in Indian insurance companies will be raised from 74 per cent to 100 per cent. This is the second public consultation that the DFS has sought on the proposed amendments to the Insurance Act 1938, the Life Insurance Corporation Act 1956, and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999. The finance ministry in December 2022 invited comments on the proposed amendments to the Insurance Act, 1938, and the Insurance Regulatory Development Act, 1999. According to an office memorandum dated November 26, 2024, it is proposed to amend certain provisions of insurance laws to ensure accessibilit

Six new players have entered the industry in the last few years, marking the first additions in the life insurance in over a decade and the first in the general and health insurance segments in nearly

A single licence for insurers and higher FDI limit could boost investments and improve insurance penetration in the country

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

Watching global firms utilising services production in India offers insights into the role of FDI

DPIIT Secretary Amardeep Singh Bhatia on Thursday said the government's focus on FDI liberalisation, smart industrial townships, and sector-specific parks, especially in Tier 2 and 3 cities, is contributing to India's industrialisation. He was speaking at a panel discussion at the 97th AGM and annual convention of FICCI. He also emphasised that the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is creating a conducive ecosystem for industrial development, with support from various ministries. Initiatives like the National Industrial Corridor Program, Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, and the ease of doing business reforms have facilitated industrial growth, Bhatia said. Kamran Rizvi, Secretary in the Ministry of Heavy Industries, who also participated in the discussion, emphasised the rapid pace of change driven by electrification and the need for industries to adapt to this shift. He highlighted how the Ministry of Heavy Industries is playing an active ro

Record production estimates for kharif foodgrains as well as promising rabi crop prospects augur well for farm income and rural demand, going forward

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said that India's current account deficit (CAD) is manageable as it is doing well in services exports. He said that the import numbers of the country are correlated with exports as much of the imported goods are shipped back after value addition. "Our services exports are significant. It is an increasingly growing surplus. So if I have a trade deficit of USD 250-300 billion, almost USD 175-200 billion get made up by services exports. So the net CAD is still in the one per cent of GDP category, which I do not think is a matter of serious enough to be concerned about," he said at an event here. The country's CAD widened marginally to USD 9.7 billion or 1.1 per cent of the GDP in April-June 2024 against USD 8.9 billion or 1 per cent in the year-ago period. A current account deficit occurs when the value of goods and services imported and other payments exceed the value of the export of goods and services and other receipts by a ..

Move to open the door for higher exposure in startups, mid-size firms

Equity commitments fell to $655.84 million in October 2024, compared with $993.35 million a year ago and $817.64 million recorded in September 2024

India needs to continuously improve its business environment to attract durable foreign saving

The Reserve Bank of India on Monday issued an operational framework for reclassification of investment made by a foreign portfolio investor to foreign direct investment (FDI) if the entity breaches the prescribed limit. Currently, an investment made by foreign portfolio investor along with its investor group (FPI) should be less than 10 per cent of the total paid-up equity capital on a fully diluted basis. Any FPI investing in breach of the prescribed limit has the option of divesting their holdings or reclassifying such holdings as FDI subject to the conditions specified by the RBI and Sebi within five trading days from the date of settlement of the trades causing the breach. The RBI has issued an operational framework for reclassification of foreign portfolio investment by FPI to FDI. As per the framework, the FPI concerned will have to take necessary approvals from the government and concurrence of the Indian investee company concerned. However, the facility of reclassification

Even after the recent selloff, MSCI India trades at 22 times forward earnings, more than 1.5 standard deviations higher the its two-decade average, Chinese stocks are a lot cheaper, by comparison

Improving FDI to support growth in manufacturing

CM Bhajan Lal expressed optimism, hoping to secure more investments from the UK as part of Rajasthan's continued efforts to boost economic ties and attract global capital

The US continued to be the largest source of FDI in India, followed by Mauritius, Singapore and the UK, according to an annual census of the Reserve Bank of India. Out of the 41,653 entities, which responded in the latest census, 37,407 reported foreign direct investment (FDI) and/or overseas direct investment (ODI) in their balance sheets for March 2024. Of these entities, 29,926 had also reported in the previous census round and 7,481 have newly reported in the current round, according to Census on Foreign Liabilities and Assets of Indian Direct Investment Entities for 2023-24. Over three-fourths of the companies that reported inward direct investment were subsidiaries of foreign companies. Non-financial companies accounted for nearly 90 per cent of the FDI equity at face value, the RBI said. "Supported by valuation gains as well as fresh inflows, total FDI in India surged by 23.3 per cent at market value in rupee terms during 2023-24; on the other hand, ODI growth was much lowe

Ten years after FDI in multi-brand retail was allowed, it remains largely inactive. Meanwhile, e-commerce giants like Amazon and Flipkart continue to reshape India's rapidly evolving retail market