New Delhi, Aug 10 (KNN) The government is considering raising the threshold for foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals requiring approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) to Rs 15,000 crore from the existing Rs 5,000 crore, as part of efforts to improve the investment climate and ease doing business.
Government Considers Higher FDI Approval Threshold
Under the existing FDI policy, proposals involving foreign equity inflows of more than Rs 5,000 crore are referred to the CCEA for consideration, while proposals below the threshold are decided by the respective ministries or departments.
The threshold has remained unchanged since November 2015. The proposed revision is being considered in view of changing economic conditions, the growing scale of investments and the government’s objective of reducing regulatory delays.
The proposal is currently under discussion. An earlier meeting of the Committee of Secretaries had also recommended raising the approval threshold for FDI proposals under the government route, reported PTI.
Rules On Downstream Foreign Investment May Also Be Eased
The government is separately considering changes to rules governing downstream or indirect foreign investment to facilitate overseas capital inflows and employment generation.
Under the proposal, fresh government approval may be exempted for indirect foreign investment in an Indian company where the upstream domestic entity has already received the required government approval.
At present, prior government approval is required for downstream investments in sectors under the FDI government route and for investments originating from countries sharing a land border with India.
India’s FDI Inflows Cross USD 1.16 Trillion
The government has undertaken several measures to attract foreign investment, with cumulative FDI inflows exceeding USD 1.16 trillion between April 2000 and March 2026.
Major sources of FDI include Mauritius, Singapore, the United States, the Netherlands, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.
(KNN Bureau)
