Government allows FII in commodity exchanges

The Industry Ministry on Tuesday came out with a  foreign direct investment (FDI) document incorporating significant changes in the FDI norms by permitting FIIs to invest up to 23 per cent in commodity exchanges without prior approval and withdrawing facility of giving equity in lieu of import of second hand equipment in order to discourage import of sub-standard machinery.

According to a notification issued by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion's (DIPP's) on consolidated FDI policy, the Government has decided to liberalise the policy and to mandate the requirement of Government approval only for FDI component of the investment. Such investment by FIIs, in commodity exchanges, will, therefore, no longer require Government approval. This change aligns the policy for foreign investment in commodity exchanges, with that of other infrastructure companies in the securities markets, such as stock exchanges, depositories and clearing corporations.

The Government also issued a clarification on Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFC) stating that the activity of ‘leasing and finance,’ which is one among the 18 NBFC activities, where induction of FDI is permitted, covers only financial leases and not operating leases. This provision intends to clarify the coverage of the term ‘leasing and finance’, in so far as the NBFC sector is concerned.

Govt looks to improve India's position in global FDI flow

The government plans to raise India's share in the global foreign direct investment (FDI) to 5% by 2017 by streamlining policies for attracting investments.

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has set a goal "to increase FDI inflows to India by improving its global share from 1.3% in 2007 to 5% by 2017".

A report of the DIPP said that India has already emerged as one of the most preferred destinations for foreign investment and "this eminent position will need to be sustained".

Since in a globalised economy manufacturers have the choice to locate in any part of the world to get a competitive advantage, "DIPP will aim at sustaining this preferred location status for India," it said.

Experts said the aim is achievable provided some major economic reforms like FDI In multi-brand retail can be implemented on time.

"This can be done but for that there is a need to further improve the investment climate of the country," Ficci Secretary General Rajiv Kumar said.

Airtel to become the first to launch 4G services in India

Bharti Airtel, India's leading mobile service provider, is set to roll out broadband wireless access (BWA) services based on 4G technology in Kolkata on Tuesday.

With this launch, Bharti Airtel would become the first to launch this high-speed service. Airtel sources said that this would entail speed of 100 megabits per second when a subscriber is on the move and a far higher speed when at a fixed location. Which is way higher than the current speed.

Bharti Airtel said that it has selected ZTE Corporation, a listed global provider of telecommunications equipment and network solutions to plan, design, supply and deploy its 4G network in Kolkata.