After much dithering, the UPA government today liberalised further the norms for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in sectors where billions are expected to flow in almost immediately — most significantly in civil aviation, titanium mining and production and credit information companies. The Cabinet cleared the changes in FDI rules today after deferring it in seven earlier meetings.

“In some sectors, we have introduced FDI norms because none existed before, while in others, we have rationalised and refined existing policies that were too broadly defined,” said a senior official from the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). For instance, the cap of 49 per cent in the civil aviation sector applied to all air transport services. Now, the domestic passenger business retains the 49 per cent cap, but the rules have been eased for other air services — maintenance, repair and overhaul organisations (MROs), cargo airlines and helicopter services.

“Boeing and Airbus have been keen to set up MROs for a while and are expected to move forward with their plans immediately. We expect significant investments in other air transport services as well,” the official said.

In another decision related to the aviation sector, the FDI policy on titanium production has been liberalised. Until now, 74 per cent FDI was allowed only in the value addition of titanium production from iluminite ore. Now, mining for titanium-yielding ore like iluminite, abundantly available in India, as well as titanium production has been thrown open for 100 per cent FDI.

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