New Delhi: The Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) today lauded India's
overseas investment policies but asked for relaxation in FDI
norms for banking and insurance sector.
"...today (India is) a major destination for FDI and
(also) a major source of FDI," the Paris-based club of 30
developed nations said in its first report on India's
Investment Policy Review.
OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria said India has made
significant progress in improving investment environment from
the days of the "licence raj", which shackled industry with
numerous unnecessary permits.
"Crucial issues for investors have started to be tackled
by the Indian government and issues like the intellectual
property rights protection has been strengthened," Gurria said
adding that sectoral FDI restrictions have been eased and
foreign ownership caps have been lifted.
However, he said some challenges still remain which
India needs to tackle to attract more foreign investment.
"(the report) suggests further easing of remaining FDI
curbs...to support the government's important social and
development goals. Many of the remaining FDI restrictions
apply to sectors where productivity and growth need to be
enhanced, such as banking, insurance and retail," he said.
He said the central government has reduced the number of
approvals needed for new investment and administrative
procedures need to be streamlined at the level of the states.
PTI
First Published: Friday, December 04, 2009, 21:47