No more FIPB, says Govt

On the Union Budget 2017 day, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley clarified that the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) will be abolished. The decision has been taken against the backdrop of the government’s attempts to improve the ease of doing business in India.

Nearly 90 per cent of foreign direct investment now comes in via the automatic route, reducing the need for FIPB. However, if the FIPB's discretionary powers are taken over by the Cabinet, then the bureaucracy would have abandoned more control to politicians, which would hardly count as a reform.

Arun Jaitley also added that further liberalisation in FDI was under consideration, as the government continues to push its reform agenda for stable and stronger institutions.The FIPB is a national agency of the Government of India and deals with the clearance of foreign investment proposals that do not fall under the automatic route.