Star Den, Flag Telecom, You & Idea FDI meet on 28 Dec

Star Den, Flag Telecom, You & Idea FDI meet on 28 Dec

Shaktikanta-Das

MUMBAI: The foreign investment board will consider 17 foreign investment proposals on 28 December, including that of Star Den Media Services and others.

Star Den Media Services Pvt. Ltd. develops and distributes television, cable, and the related network platforms. It offers a platform for distributing television channels in India through all fixed networks including cable, direct to home, and internet protocol television.

Other investment proposals include that of Idea Cellular Infrastructure Services, Flag Telecom Singapore Pte Ltd and You Broadband India.

FIPB had in June this year rejected a proposal of Flag Telecom Singapore, a wholly-owned unit of Reliance Communications (RCom), to set up a telecom subsidiary in India. Flag Telecom reportedly planned to acquire a company, payout for which would have been around US$120 million -- in two parts.

Now, the Foreign Investment Promotion Board, helmed by the economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das, is planning to meet on 28 December, 2016. Around 17 proposals would be discussed, a finance ministry meeting notice stated. AMP Solar India, Grand Pvt Ltd. and Sanofi Synthelabo India proposals would also be considered.

India allows FDI in some of the industry sectors via the automatic route, but, in certain segments that are considered sensitive for the economy and security, the proposals need to be cleared by FIPB first.

FIPB had earlier met on 26 September to consider foreign investment proposals, including that of Idea Cellular Infrastructure Services.

The Indian government has taken a series of measures in the recent past to give a fillip to foreign direct investment. In the first half of the current fiscal year, the inflows were USD 21.62 billion. FDI increased by 29 per cent to USD 40 billion in 2015-16 as compared to the previous fiscal.