Commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma today indicated that the government is working on further liberalising foreign direct investment (FDI) policy to attract investments into the country. The bold decisions of the UPA government for liberalising FDI policy in key sectors such as civil aviation,retail and telecom have resonated with the global community and we have seen results in the last few months. The government will continue its endeavour for liberalising the FDI policy further in the coming weeks to ensure that India retains its leadership position for attracting foreign investments, Sharma said in a statement. The statement comes amid the foreign investment promotion board (FIPB) clearing UK-based retailer Tescos application of setting up shops in India in joint venture with Tatas Trent. Tesco has become the first multi-brand retailer applying to open stores in the country,more than a year after the FDI policy in the sector was liberalised in September 2012. As such,last year,the government relaxed FDI norms in several sectors including telecom,defence,PSU oil refineries,commodity bourses,power exchanges and stock exchanges. The industry ministry is also working on further liberalising the FDI regime in railways and a Cabinet note for the same has already been circulated,an official said. During the April-October period this fiscal,India attracted FDI worth $12.6 billion,a decline of 15 per cent over the same period last year. Further,expressing optimism that there is visible rebound in the economy,the minister said that while the industrial activity is getting on track,coming months will see a greater push for development of industrial corridors across the country. Work will commence for establishment of the first few cities along the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC). I expect that with greater foreign investment and technology collaborations,Indian manufacturing will also move up the value chain and acquire greater competitiveness globally, Sharma said. The $90-billion DMIC project is aimed at creating mega industrial infrastructure along the Delhi-Mumbai Rail Freight Corridor,which is under implementation. Japan is providing financial and technical aid for the project,which will cover seven states totalling 1,483 km. On exports,the minister said that despite weak demand in traditional markets,exports will continue to do well.
