Govt clears 34 FDI proposals

The Central government has approved 34 foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals entailing an investment of Rs 30.98 crore in sectors including petrochemicals, construction equipment, textiles and software development.

Of the 34 proposals recommended by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in its meeting on March 19 and approved by Finance Minister Jaswant Singh, only 19 entail investment. The rest of the proposals did not involve any FDI inflow. The proposals approved included the Rs 16.90 crore investment by Mauritius-based Indusind International Holdings to acquire equity shares from the secondary market and that of Dubai-based Flemingo International, incorporating changes in its activity clause.

The government has also approved Japanese company, Hitachi Construction Machinery's proposal to raise foreign equity in Telco Construction Equipment Co by Rs 2 crore. US-based Penguin Publishing's proposal seeking amendment in the activities clause in its Indian venture Penguin Books (India) has also been cleared.