By IANS,
New Delhi : The finance minister can now approve foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals up to Rs.1,200 crore (Rs.12 billion/$), and only bigger proposals will have to go to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), it was decided Thursday.
In a meeting here chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the CCEA decided to revise the size of FDI proposals the finance minister can approve from Rs.600 crore to Rs.1,200 crore, according to a statement from the commerce ministry.
Further, the total project cost including the foreign equity inflow will be taken into consideration before deciding if it will sent up to the CCEA.
The meeting also decided on three exceptions in which no further approval had to be taken for more investment, once the initial investment had been approved by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) or CCEA.
“With the government’s further liberalisation, the approval is expected to save time and efforts for the FIPB/CCEA and also expedite foreign investment inflow,” said the statement.