Govt does not fix targets for FDI inflows; it is largely a matter of pvt business decisions: Sitharaman

New Delhi, Aug 1 (KNN) Government has approved 89 proposals for foreign investment in single brand retail trading (SBRT) and one in the multi-brand sector up to March, 2016.

Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said this in a written reply to the Lok Sabha today.

In February 2006, the government permitted 51 per cent FDI in the single brand sector. In 2012, it raised the cap to 100 per cent.

In the multi-brand retail sector, the government has approved the proposal of Tesco Overseas Investments Ltd.

Replying to a separate question, she said, Government does not fix targets for FDI inflows as FDI is largely a matter of private business decisions. Government of India has put in place a liberal and investor friendly FDI policy.

FDI inflows depend on a host of factors such as availability of natural resource, market size, infrastructure, political and general investment climate as well as macro-economic stability and investment decision of foreign investors.

Review of FDI policy is an ongoing process and significant changes are made in the FDI policy regime, from time to time, to ensure that India remains an attractive investment destination, Sitharaman added.

These measures are expected to increase FDI, which complements and supplements domestic investment.

Domestic companies are benefited through FDI, by way of enhanced access to supplementary capital and state-of-art-technologies; exposure to global managerial practices and opportunities of integration into global markets resulting into accelerated domestic growth of the whole country, she said.