Nearly 200 Chinese FDI proposals pending; govt begins faster clearances in select sectors

The government has begun streamlining the process for foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals from Chinese companies, with directions issued to cut down the time taken for approvals, two people familiar with the matter said.

An inter-ministerial committee (IMC) headed by the Home Secretary, which decides on such applications, has started meeting more regularly. One such meeting was held last week, a senior official said. “The directions to us are clear — reduce the time taken to process applications,” the official added.

According to the sources, proposals in non-critical sectors such as renewable energy, manufacturing and electronics are currently under consideration. Dixon Technologies’ FDI proposal involving two Chinese partners is also under review.

Nearly 200 applications are pending under the framework of Press Note 3, which mandates prior government approval for investments from countries sharing a land border with India. The government may fast-track these depending on clearances from the IMC and the Cabinet Secretariat, one of the people said.

However, officials stressed that the move should not be interpreted as India softening its position towards China. “Don’t look at India engaging with Chinese FDI through the prism of its relations with the US,” one of the sources said.