India must attract more FDI

Author: S Gopalakrishnan, President, CII and Executive Vice Chairman, Infosys

The cabinet has recently approved proposals raising FDI caps in several sectors and permitting higher limits in others after approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board. More sectors were brought in under the automatic route which requires only notification to the RBI. The enactment of a contemporary Companies Bill would also attract FDI.

These steps are timely and would help contain the current account deficit that has gone up to 4.8% of GDP. But FDI in India should not be viewed merely through the narrow prism of foreign exchange. Foreign companies add to investible resources, bridge the gap between domestic savings and investments, provide jobs and contribute to tax revenues. Importantly, FDI brings in technology and best management practices, often slotting into global supply chains with a demonstration impact on Indian companies. 

This law will land us in trouble

Views of Chandrajit Banerjee, Director-General, CII

The proposed land acquisition law ramps up acquisition costs to unmanageable levels.

Although India has one of the largest land masses in the world, the many competing needs for land have led to a crisis in acquisition for industrialisation and urbanisation.

According to a CII analysis, land acquisition has emerged as one of the biggest hurdles delaying projects worth lakhs of crores. In this context, there is an urgent need to frame a balanced piece of legislation that would address diverse needs of landowners, project-affected families and industry is more acute. 

India – Israel Initiative For Industrial R&D (i4RD)

A Bilateral Framework Providing Financial Support for Collaborative Industrial R&D Ventures between Indian and Israeli Companies

Joint Request For Proposals (RFP Closes On 15 October 2013)

CII submits a detailed list of 62 stalled projects: 17 Projects Cleared by Project Management Group

CII appreciates the Government’s commitment to rapid implementation of large infrastructure projects.

CII has learnt that 17 large infrastructure projects have been cleared in the last two weeks by the Project Management Group (PMG) recently set up in the Cabinet Secretariat to fast-track infrastructure projects. PMG has initiated an innovative and effective monitoring mechanism deploying e-governance to track and review the progress of the large infrastructure projects. In consultation with concerned companies, CII had prepared a detailed list of 62 infrastructure projects of over Rs 1,000 crores each and submitted it to the PMG.