The Indian government is weighing an increase to the threshold above which foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals require approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), raising it from Rs50bn ($522.4m) to Rs150bn.
Citing unnamed sources, Moneycontrol reported that a cabinet draft note on the proposal has been prepared, with preliminary discussions held between the Ministry of Finance, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, and NITI Aayog.
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The proposals are likely to be taken up for cabinet approval soon, the sources said.
Under the current framework, which has been in place since November 2015, FDI proposals exceeding Rs50bn require CCEA clearance, while those below the threshold are approved by the concerned ministry.
Should the revised limit be adopted, proposals of up to Rs150bn would be cleared at the ministry level without requiring CCEA approval.
The sources said the higher threshold is being considered in view of the growth in the size of the Indian economy and investment inflows over the years, and is intended to improve ease of doing business and reduce approval timelines.
The government is separately considering changes to FDI rules governing downstream companies.
Under the proposal, an Indian company receiving indirect foreign investment would not need to seek fresh government approval if the domestic company higher up in its ownership chain has already secured the required clearance.
Prior government approval is currently mandated for downstream or indirect foreign investment in two circumstances: investments in sectors where FDI falls under the government approval route, and investments involving entities from countries sharing a land border with India.
The proposed change would apply where the relevant investment has already been cleared at an earlier stage of the ownership structure, reducing the need for repeat approvals.
