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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has intervened to sort out the differences between the Finance and Commerce Ministries over the implementation of 100 per cent FDI in pharmaceuticals sector.
The Prime Minister will chair a special meeting on Monday on the issue, which will be attended by the Finance, Commerce and Health Ministers.
The Prime Minister’s Office had decided to push FDI in the sector, which is worth Rs 1 lakh crore. Sources said the meeting is also an effort to expedite the implementation of 100 per cent FDI.
The Government sources said the policy will be taken to Cabinet only after the differences are resolved between the ministries in the meeting convened by the PMO.
There were reports that the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and the Finance Ministry had differed over certain guidelines in permitting 100 per cent FDI. The differences, according to reports, were particularly on the involvement of Competition Commission of India in scrutinising mergers and acquisitions.
There were reportedly also differences over the process of approval by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). The Finance Ministry had suggested that only those cases involving FDI beyond 49 per cent in existing units should be considered by the FIPB.
The Commerce Ministry, on the other hand, wants foreign investment in existing pharma units to be approved by the FIPB.
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