FDI review at end of monsoon session

Policy review on Foreign Direct Investment, proposing relaxation of norms, is likely to be delayed till the end of monsoon session of Parliament as the government does not want to risk a flak from the Left parties.

"The review will take place only after the ensuing Parliament session ends in September," a senior official said here.

The monsoon session starts on August 10 and will go on till September 14.

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has been engaged in the annual exercise of review of the FDI policy for several months and has received quite a feedback from number of ministries like petroleum, food processing and finance.

Since the exercise is aimed at easing the procedural rules and FDI caps in some of the politically-sensitive sectors, the government does not want them to become a matter of heated debates in Parliament, the official said.

The Left parties have mostly been opposing further opening up of the foreign investment rules.

The sectors where the FDI regime is likely to get liberalised include financial services, agri-products, sports goods, electronics, ground handling aviation services and petroleum products.

The government is also expected to do away with a rule that imposes obligation on the foreign companies to disinvest their equity in India.

"The government is thinking of removing this obligation since no great public purpose has been served," the official said.

He said several key administrative ministries like petroleum and food processing have agreed to this proposal.