25 foreign investment proposals on FIPB agenda

Inter-ministerial body FIPB will take up 25 foreign investment proposals, including those of Kotak Mahindra Bank and DEN Networks, at its next meeting.

The Foreign Investment Promotion Board, chaired by Finance Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, can recommend foreign investment proposals worth up to Rs 3,000 crore to the Finance Ministry for approval.

Of the 25 proposals on the agenda of the Board for June 15, four are related to pharmaceutical sector. These are Sudeep Pharma, Celon Laboratories, Shantha Biotechnics and Sparsha Pharma International.

Other foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals to be taken up include those of INX Music, Nickelodeon Asia Holdings and Eros International Media.

Investment applications of Sprint Telecom, Chorus Call, Cheetah Communications, Reliance Globalcom and Sistema Shyam Teleservices are also on the agenda.

FIPB had deferred decision on the application of Kotak Mahindra Bank in its earlier meeting. The private sector lender is seeking the Board's permission to raise foreign investment limit in the bank to 55%.

India allows FDI in most of the sectors through automatic route, but in certain segments considered sensitive for the economy and security, the proposals have to be first cleared by FIPB.

During the 2014-15 fiscal, FDI grew 27% year-on- year to US $30.93 billion as against US $24.29 billion in 2013-14, according to the data of Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).