DPIIT for faster clearance of FDI proposals

New Delhi: The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) will formulate strict timelines for different government agencies and departments for clearance of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) proposals from prioritised sectors, a top official said.

DPIIT Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said though there is a standard operating procedure (SOP) for these clearances, still there are delays as the SOPs are not being followed. The secretary was responding to the Budget announcement that the rules and regulations for FDI and overseas investments will be simplified to facilitate foreign direct investments, and nudge prioritisation. He said that the concerned ministries and departments will be nudged to prioritise applications and speed up the process of approvals.

"The idea is to cut short that (clearance and approval) process, we have not yet decided about the sectors where some liberalisation is possible, but certainly there is a view in the government that the processes, where the government route is involved which is through the ministries including DPIIT and the concerned ministries that approval process needs to be speeded up," Singh said. After the abolition of FIPB, the granting of government approval for overseas investment under the FDI policy and FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act) regulations was entrusted to the concerned ministries/ departments. The Foreign Investment Facilitation Portal (FIFP) was developed after the abolition of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in May 2017.