Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has been allowed by the government to approve foreign investment proposals which are up to Rs. 1,200 crore. The move clearly means that the FDI policy in India has undergone a relaxation; thus allowing easier access to investments with least possible time.

During a meeting with the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), Home Minister P Chidambaram said that the approval is going to save a lot of time which gets wasted in getting approvals. Before this approval, FIPB was allowed to approve FDI proposals worth Rs. 600 crore alone.

As per the new guidelines, before submitting a project details to the CCEA, FIPB will be first considering the equity investments. It means that unlike earlier times, FIPB can now give green signal directly to the projects which are till Rs. 1,200 crore. CCEA need not be involved in such cases. Also, the companies which have already taken approval from CCEA or FIPB will not require any further approvals.

The step has been taken to boost the increasing inflow of FDI in India. For the April-December period the total inflow stood at $20.92 billion, which is slightly lower than $21.15 billion in 2008.