Well over a year after the government decided to raise the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) limit in telecom from 49 per cent to 74 per cent, the Cabinet today finally approved the hike with a new set of conditions.

The decision to raise the FDI limit was taken in November 2005 but the government’s inability to form guidelines on remote access was stalling the final nod.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister P R Dasmunsi today said the new conditions allow remote access to networks in India only from approved locations. They also specify that such access can be given only to equipment suppliers, manufacturers and affiliates.

While remote access cannot be used for monitoring content, a mirror image of remote access information has to be made available to security agencies in India. Mobile operators will also be required to maintain a complete audit trail of remote access activities for six months.

Telecom FDI apart, the Cabinet today also gave its approval to establishing a university in India for Non-resident Indians and Persons of Indian Origin . The university will have a “deemed university” status as an institution of excellence. PM Manmohan Singh had promised to the Indian diaspora during the recent Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas that such a university would soon be in place.

While it was earlier thought that such universities may be allowed to come up inside Special Economic Zones, the recent political heat over SEZs has made the idea unpalatable. “We have deleted the provision of SEZs for the operation of such a university,” Dasmunshi clarified.

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