The US is looking for more clarity in India’s foreign direct investment (FDI) policy, especially on rules related to investment caps in various sectors, to make it easier for American businesses to invest in the country.
“In areas where there has been an increase or changes in the (foreign investment) caps, we hope there will be more clarification in terms of what it exactly means for doing business in India,” Stefan M Selig, US Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, said addressing the media in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Selig said that while there has been some relaxation in the FDI policy in recent months, the US wanted to see more progress in sectors such as multi-channel retail and web-based retail.
The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion has recently done away with sub-caps on different forms of foreign investments and replaced them with a single composite cap (except for defence and banking). The FDI caps in the defence and insurance sectors have been raised to 49 per cent from 26 per cent.
Selig is in New Delhi to discuss the agenda for the first Indo-US ‘commercial and strategic dialogue’ with Commerce & Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia.
The dialogue will be launched in Washington next month and is to be co-chaired by the US Secretaries for State and Commerce from the US side and Sitharaman from India’s side.
“It will be the signature, annual dialogue between our two governments. It will serve as a high-level meeting between our senior government and Cabinet officials as well as an ongoing, sustainable forum for policy discussions,” he added.
Four areas The dialogue will focus on four main areas that include ease of doing business, developing common standards for facilitating trade, boosting innovation and entrepreneurship and cooperating in areas such as smart cities and renewable energies.
Selig said that the US was willing to invest in three smart cities that the Indian government had selected for it. One of the goals of the dialogue is to increase bilateral trade five-fold from $100 billion to $500 billion annually.
On the issues of intellectual property rights and visa fees, Selig said that both countries were having continuous dialogue on the matter at all levels. He pointed out that India was the highest recipient of work visas in the US bagging about 65-66 per cent of all short-term visas issued.