The Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr Anand Sharma, and the Environment Minister, Ms Jayanthi Natarajan, agreed to resolve the differences over relaxing green norms in the proposed National Manufacturing Policy.

An official statement after their meeting on Wednesday said the two Ministers have reached an understanding to fast-track the resolution of the environmental issues and putting the policy before the Cabinet soon.

The Ministers also agreed that they will take a fresh look at the issue of Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives being mandatory for environment clearances.

Mr Sharma said there is a need to revisit the issue of delays caused by the sequential approval for industrial and environmental clearances.

During a meeting with Mr Sharma last week, the CII and FICCI members had raised concerns over the environmental clearances delaying projects and hurting investment.

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