FDI decision on aviation this month, says FM in US

Maintaining that the UPA government is 8216;8216;committed to the process of reforms,8217;8217; Finance Minister P Chidambaram has told ...

Maintaining that the UPA government is 8216;8216;committed to the process of reforms,8217;8217; Finance Minister P Chidambaram has told investors in New York that a decision on raising the cap on foreign direct investment FDI in domestic airlines is expected to be taken this month and in the 8216;8216;near term8217;8217; in telecom.

Action in the case of 8216;8216;civil aviation, that is, domestic airlines, we will be able to do it within this month, in telecom in the near term but in insurance, I said, it would require parliamentary approval,8217;8217; he said in an interaction after addressing more than 500 investors.

The question whether Left parties would be able to slow down reforms came up repeatedly in the discussion that followed his presentation of India8217;s economic profile and his statement that the country can absorb huge amounts 8212; 150 billion dollars 8212; of foreign investments.

8216;8216;Working a coalition is a learning on the job process. We are learning on the job and they Left parties are also learning to work with us, even while remaining outside the government,8217;8217; he said.

To a question on foreign investment in media, he told the investors8217; forum that a ministerial committee would examine the issue.

8216;8216;I said it is our intention to raise the cap in civil aviation, telecommunication and insurance. I said in civil aviation, domestic airlines the intention is to raise the cap from 40 to 49 per cent, in telecom from 49 to 74 per cent and in insurance from 26 to 49 per cent.8217;8217;

He also told foreign institutional and other investors that India provides a lucrative market for their investments and assured them that the government would remove any procedural hurdles that they might face.

	Influence used to get around policies: Tata

			NEW YORK : Tata group chairman Ratan Tata told the investors conference that 8216;8216;some business people8217;8217; use their influence in a way that the government8217;s policies of liberalisation are not implemented. 8216;8216;They think liberalisation is good only for them.8217;8217; He did not name anyone.. Story continues below this ad

Stressing the importance of foreign investment, he said it is imperative for India as it needs a growth rate of 7 per cent if it is to find jobs for millions of new entrants every year.

8216;8216;Let me tell you categorically that my country remains committed to the process of reform, and that this process will go forward, we will try to go even faster,8217;8217; he said.

Chidambaram, who had meetings with several investors during the day, told reporters later that they were 8216;8216;uniformly enthusiastic and responsive.8217;8217;

8216;8216;What I saw today was interest mixed with curiosity about the policies of the new government.8217;8217; He explained the policies and they seem to appreciate them.

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The investors, he said, did not raise any major concerns though some issues of procedure came up.

He told the investment forum that the confidence of foreign institutional investors was increasing. He said in 2002, only 51 came but in the first few months of the current fiscal year, 72 had already come. 8212; Press Trust of India