The Hindu Business Line : Decision deferred on changes in Press Note 18

THE Committee of Secretaries (CoS) headed by the Cabinet Secretary, Mr B.K. Chaturvedi, on Thursday couldn't reach a consensus on the future of the controversial Press Note 18 applicable to the Indian joint venture companies having foreign partners.

The secretaries in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, the Ministry of Finance and the Planning Commission, among others, attended the meeting.

While officials were tight lipped about the deliberations, an official spokesperson said that the CoS has deferred a decision in this regard.

The committee discussed the note, prepared by the Planning Commission at the behest of the Cabinet Secretariat, on the proposed changes in the Press Note 18.

Press Note 18 makes it mandatory for the foreign partner in the Indian joint ventures to obtain a no objection certificate from the Indian partner if they want to set up wholly-owned subsidiaries.

This provision has often come under attack from the foreign investment lobbies that branded it as restrictive and demanded scrapping of it.

The Industry and Commerce Minister, Mr Kamal Nath, has also favoured a review of this provision following which the Planning Commission was asked to prepare the back ground papers for today's meeting.

According to the available indications till now, the Government is taking a very cautious approach with regard to any changes in the provisions of the regulations and scrapping is extremely unlikely .

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