Board on FDI implementation soon

NEW DELHI, APR 23: The government has proposed to set up Foreign Investment Implementation Authority to curb any delay in implementation of projects funded by foreign direct investment. quot;The government is committed to utilise whatever little FDI is coming to core sector and therefore proposes setting up of the foreign investment implementation authority after the instance of the regulatory mechanism introduced in telecom, electricity and other sectors,8221; S T Devare, secretary, ministry of external affairs, said here today.

While the main hurdles in infrastructure development remain the availability of funds, proper utilisation of FDI via setting up of regulatory boards is also necessary for assuring the investors, he said addressing the concluding session of quot;the infrastructure and investment India 8217;99quot; conference here. The country has so far received only about 14 billion FDI in the last eight years, and half of the amount came in the infrastructure sector, which requires about 400 billion in thenext ten years, he said.

Referring to the setting up of the regulatory boards, he said, after Central Electricity Regulatory Commission and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, government is going to set up a similar authority in the natural gas sector 8211; the natural gas regulatory board.

These authorities will clearly spell the conditions of repatriation and tariff rates, and help attract FDI by assuring investors of proper regulation in the sector, he said. Meanwhile, it is learnt that the industry ministry has turned down commerce ministry8217;s suggestion to reconsider its decision of allowing foreign companies having non-exclusive technical collaborations with Indian companies to set up wholly owned subsidiaries in the country without the consent of the domestic partner.