Kolkata: The government has scrapped the restrictive clauses of Press Note 18 for all future joint ventures with foreign partners.

Existing joint ventures will continue to be protected by a few provisions of the Press Note 18, new joint ventures and collaborations will be shaped by commercial contractual agreements based on the free will of partners without government interference.

For the existing joint ventures, protection will be restricted to the same - and not any allied field — and not for defunct or sick joint ventures.

Making this announcement at the inaugural plenary session of the CII ''partnership summit 2005'', prime minister Manmohan Singh said that the regulatory provision had been a source of discomfort for foreign investors for some time now.

Singh said, "As I just listened to tales of success of Indian firms in the global marketplace and the words of optimism at a recent meeting of the Manufacturing Competitive Council, I was convinced that measures like Press Note 18 are anachronisms today, having outlived their purpose."

"We need to move away from "incrementalism", and we must have the courage to question our assumptions and challenge pre-conceived notions," he added.