In order to improve the investment climate of the country, the government will clear all foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals within a maximum of 10 weeks after the receipt of an application as per the Standard Operation Procedure (SOP) released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). The newly formulated SOP will replace the 25-year old foreign investment advisory body- the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) which has been abolished by the government.
As per the SOP guidelines, proposals not requiring security clearance will be cleared in eight weeks, while applications that require security nod would take a cumulative time period of ten weeks. Besides, DIPP will get an additional time of two weeks for consideration of the proposals proposed for rejection or where additional conditions which are not provided in the FDI policy are proposed to be imposed by the competent authority.
Furthermore, the FDI proposals requiring government’s nod need to be scrutinized by the concerned ministries or departments and such proposals will be filed online on the revamped FIPB portal which has been renamed as Foreign Investment Facilitation Portal (FIFP). FDI applications which require security clearances include investments in broadcasting, telecommunication, satellites, private security agencies, defence, civil aviation and mining & mineral separation of titanium bearing minerals and ores.