Mumbai:
Retail FDI would have to wait a bit longer as the
country's political leadership is yet to decide on opening
up the sector to foreign companies eyeing the country's
buoyant markets in a host of sectors.
The government has decided to postpone changes in foreign
direct investment (FDI) norms by about a month amidst
growing opposition to entry of foreign retail groups into
the country.
The annual review of the FDI policy is due this month
but it has now been decided to postpone the exercise as
Parliament is in session.
The review will come up when Parliament goes into recess
from March 21 to April 18, official sources said.
While the government is likely to allow foreign investors
pick stake in commodity exchanges and change norms and
caps for aviation and petroleum, reports say it is unlikely
to do so in the retail sector owing to political opposition.
It is likely that the government could liberalise FDI
norms in asset reconstruction companies, where the limit
currently stands at 49 per cent through Foreign Investment
Promotion Board approval.
In the banking sector, the cap on voting rights is likely
to be reviewed while in the petroleum sector, the condition
of 26 per cent equity dilution in favour of Indian entities
in five years could be a part of the changes.
In
aviation, the government proposes to introduce a separate
head of air traffic services that would constitute the
services and set FDI rules and limits for different services
accordingly.
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