Telecom firms get more time to comply with FDI norms

The Cabinet today extended the deadline for telecom companies to comply with the new FDI norms by another three months, from July 3 to October 2.

The extension, the second in a row, comes in the wake of sharp differences between telecom companies and sections of the government over the norms notified when the FDI ceiling in the telecom sector was raised from 49 per cent to 74 per cent. The compliance date was earlier extended from March 3 to July 2.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi said, "This will give more time for further consultations with different stakeholders, and, in the meantime, maintain the continuity of operations in the telecom and IT sectors."

The Cabinet also approved a Rs 1,125-crore national agricultural innovation project for fine-tuning agricultural research in the country.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved additional funding of Rs 200 crore, besides the allocated Rs 750 crore, for strengthening and developing agricultural education in the remaining period of the 10th Five-Year Plan.

The CCEA gave its nod for funds to the tune of Rs 1,039 crore for implementing polio eradication strategies in 2006-07. It also set aside Rs 20 crore for corrective surgery and rehabilitation of polio patients.

The Cabinet further approved a proposal authorising the National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources (NISCAIR), CSIR, and the department of scientific and industrial research to sign a non-disclosure agreement with international patent offices for making the traditional-knowledge-digital-library accessible to patent examiners.

Dasmunsi said the Cabinet also cleared the schedule for the monsoon session of Parliament, from July 24 to August 30.

Giving a go-ahead to the proposal to open an embassy in Ljubljana (Slovenia) and reopen the one in Kinshasa (Congo), the Cabinet also gave its assent to the opening of consulates in Melbourne (Australia), Juba (South Sudan) and Phuentsholing (Bhutan).

The Cabinet approved creation of 20 India-based and 25 local posts to man these missions and posts, and a one-time expenditure of over Rs 2 crore to set them up.