In order to check black money from entering in the country, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will be sharing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) related information with the country’s intelligence agencies-Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). This move comes after the Cabinet Secretariat under whose administrative control RAW functions had expressed its concern over companies in tax havens investing in the country. Highlighting the need to keep a track of such companies' source of funding, the Cabinet Secretariat suggested that Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB) under the Finance Ministry should maintain a database of such entities and investments, a move which was later rejected.
This move assumes importance as the government expects rise in FDI inflow to the country owing to its attempts to liberalise trade and promote ease of doing business. The decision was taken during a recent meeting of a government group, headed by Revenue Secretary, to check economic crimes. During the meeting of 'Working Group on Intelligence Apparatus', representatives of Intelligence Bureau felt that it is important to have the information. It was decided that RBI should share information on FDI which actually enters the country with IB and Cabinet Secretariat.
The FDI comes either through automatic route or through Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), an inter-ministerial body under the Department of Economic Affairs, which is responsible for processing of FDI proposals and making recommendations for government approval.
According to data of Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), India has received $29.44 billion foreign direct investment (FDI), surging by 40 percent during April-December in the current fiscal.