NEW DELHI: From combing regulations at the Centre and in the states to make it easier for companies to invest, tailoring packages, and making investment pitches to global corporations, govt is seeking to ensure that foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into the country remain strong.India saw FDI inflows increase by 13.6% to $81 billion, and govt is keen to build on that despite growing protectionism in the US and other countries.“There is a lot of work going on with the states; we are nudging and helping them to put in place an easier regulatory framework, decriminalise laws, and have a single window system that is being benchmarked,” Amardeep Singh Bhatia, secretary for promotion of industry and internal trade told TOI. To clear proposals, the states are being encouraged to have a single window system that lists out the number of services offered, the time taken for each clearance, and the documents required, with each benchmarked to the best-performing ones, he said. A task force led by cabinet secretary T V Somanathan is also working with the states to remove hurdles to investment: around land use changes, building-related permissions, or labour and other regulations. Bhatia said states are looking to make land available for projects, a common concern for investors, with the Centre’s industrial parks and corridors seeking to provide plug-and-play facilities.“We (Centre) are reviewing all our sectoral (FDI) regulations to see if the process can be simplified,” Bhatia said, adding that consultations with stakeholders have been held and several issues have been addressed. Regulators are reviewing regulations to ensure that approvals come faster. While he said that sectoral FDI caps were already liberal, insurance regulator IRDAI has set up a panel to overhaul the law, including plans to allow 100% FDI in the sector. The moves come at a time when Donald Trump is seeking to get American companies, including the likes of Apple, to invest more in the US. When asked, Bhatia said: “Companies are working on a resilient supply chain, and a certain portion of the production is naturally coming to India given that it has a large domestic market at present, which will grow steadily. There is a very strong positive interest from investors, which has translated into greater FDI flows into the country.” Besides, he added, India has the “entire spectrum of skills” to attract investment in manufacturing and R&D.Asked about the large FDI outflows, which pulled down net FDI by 97% to 383 million in FY25, Bhatia said some of it was due to companies repatriating funds after IPOs, while Indian companies were also investing overseas. “Indian companies are growing in scale globally, and they are investing abroad to tie up resources, technology, and be part of the global value chain. It will generate more dividends and inflows in the future.“
