The US has pitched for foreign direct investment (FDI) in India’s multi-brand retail and e-commerce sector, saying it expects some progress on these issues even as it sought more clarification on sectors where foreign investment caps have been hiked.
“There has not been progress in FDI in multi-channel (brand) retail as well as web-based (e-commerce) retailing in which we hope to see more progress,” US under secretary of commerce for International Trade, Stefan M Selig told reporters in New Delhi.
Selig’s response came in reply to a question about India’s FDI norms and sectors which need to be opened up or need more clarity. The current foreign investment policy permits 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail, but the centre now is not very keen on foreign investment in this sector.
India has raised the FDI limit in the defence and insurance sectors to 49 per cent each and opened up the railway infrastructure segment. FDI ceiling in the sensitive defence sector has been hiked to 49 per cent from 26 per cent.
In the railways, 100 per cent FDI has been allowed in areas such as high-speed train systems, suburban corridors and dedicated freight line projects implemented in PPP mode.
From April 2000 to May 2015, India received 14.30 billion US Dollar FDI from the US or six per cent of the country’s total FDI during this period.
