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Foreign investment board to stay, says Bakht

The Foreign Investment Promotion Board may stay on. Union Industry Minister Sikander Bakht said, "We have still not taken a decision on dismantling the board."

It may be recalled that former industry minister Murasoli Maran had announced his intention of doing away with the FIPB and to allow the states attract investment.

Bakht insisted that his government was committed to reducing bureaucratic controls that created hurdles in the way of investment. However, "foreign direct investment will continue to be cleared on a case-by-case basis by the government through the FIPB," he said.

Bakht declared that his government was keen to attract foreign investment in infrastructure and high-tech areas. He insisted that swadeshi did not conflict with liberalisation, saying the former was a misunderstood term.

Earlier, at a seminar organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry on April 16, Bakht reiterated his government's commitment to reforms. "There is no question of discouraging the reforms process. The government will appraise reforms by giving primacy to accelerated development. FDI is welcome not only for the capital and the technology associated with it, but also the employment and exports it can generate," Bakht said in his inaugural speech.

He said swadeshi, for the government, only meant encouraging the local industry. "In now way will swadeshi mean protecting domestic industry or discouraging multinationals," he said. Bakht added that the BJP was not against liberalisation of the consumer goods sector, but wanted the opening up of this sector to proceed more slowly compared to the infrastructure and hi-tech sectors.

He said the government would chalk out a programme to promote the local industry. "If India is to emerge as a strong economy, domestic investment should not be inferior in competition or productivity," he said.

Bakht said it was imperative to reverse the economic slowdown. "Growth is the centrepiece of our vision of a strong India. Without growth, the goals spelt out in the national agenda for governance will mostly remain on paper."

The government, he said, would support "whatever contributes to growth, employment and revenues."

The industry minister spoke of reforms in intellectual property rights. "I will endeavour to create the necessary conditions to enable scientists and inventors to obtain world-class patents in India," he said."

The industry minister has set up an expert group under the chairmanship of Raja Ramanna to advise on matters of IPR. He added that he wanted strengthen and streamline the intellectual property administration to provide better services to inventors, traders, and other users.