New policy on FDI


New Delhi:
Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath yesterday said that the government will work out a foreign direct investment (FDI) policy aimed at pushing up exports and increasing job opportunities. A new Exim Policy focusing on procedural simplification and reduction of transaction cost is likely to be announced by end-June or early July.

"We will have a new FDI policy, which will increase exports and generate employment. If required, we will build special mechanisms to generate employment," Kamal Nath said, in his first interaction with the media after assuming office.

Prime minister Manmohan Singh would decide whether the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) would remain with the finance ministry or return to the department of industrial policy and promotion, he added.

Ruling out the government intervention to prop up the rupee, he said he would take up the matter with the finance ministry to ensure that the Reserve Bank of India or the government stepped in whenever required.

The government would strive for a double-digit export growth on a sustainable basis, increase in agricultural exports and greater income for farmers, as opposed to traders, the minister said.

To create an enabling climate for promoting exports, the board of trade would be reconstituted and an advisory group of 25-30 top exporters would be set up in the ministry, he said.