Commerce & Industry Ministry releases annual FDI compendium

With a view to provide a ready reckoner to foreign investors, the Commerce and Industry Ministry today came out with an updated compendium incorporating all policy changes effected over the last one year.

For the purposes of FDI policy in private security agencies, it has defined the terms ‘private security agencies’, ‘private security’ and ‘armoured car service’. These terms will have the same meaning as provided under Private Security Agencies (Regulation) (PSAR) Act, 2005, the 109-page compendium said.

Also, the ministry has again retained the previous UPA regime’s decision allowing foreign retailers to open multi-brand stores with 51 per cent ownership in its consolidated FDI policy. The BJP-led NDA government, which came to power in May 2014, has not made any changes to this policy. However, the BJP had opposed foreign investment in multi-brand retail sector in its election manifesto.

The new compendium, which came into effect from yesterday, mentions all existing FDI policy decisions, as also the changes made over the last one year.

These include changes in the foreign direct investment norms in over a dozen sectors including pensions, insurance, asset reconstruction company, e-commerce guidelines, single-brand retail, plantation segment and broadcasting.

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), which is under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, is the nodal agency on FDI policy. It compiles all policies related to India’s FDI regime into a single document to make it simple and easy for investors to understand.

Investors would otherwise have to go through various press notes issued by the industry department and RBI regulations to understand the policy. The government updates the policy every year. FDI in India grew by 29 per cent to USD 40 billion in 2015-16 as against USD 30.93 billion in the previous fiscal.