Govt approves 26 FDI proposals worth Rs13.6bn

The Government deferred a proposal by Jet Airways to raise US$400mn. The airline had planned to raise the funds from FIIs as the appetite for domestic investment in the aviation sector in India is not that strong. The Centre approved 26 proposals of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) amounting to Rs13.61bn approximately based on the recommendations of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in its meeting held on October 9. In total, 14 proposals were deferred. A plan by Opto Circuits (India) Ltd., Bangalore to issue Convertible Warrants on a preferential basis was also put on hold. UTV Software Communication Ltd.'s proposal to issue and allot equity shares pursuant to the Scheme of Arrangement approved by the Bombay High Court was also deferred. The proposed Joint Venture between EADS Deutchland GmbH (EADS), Germany and Larsen & Toubro Ltd. (L&T), Mumbai was rejected yet again. The two companies plan to incorporate a manufacturing JV company to undertake the production of defence equipment. Four proposals were rejected, including that of ByCell Telecommunication Pvt. Ltd. One proposal has been advised to access automatic route.