We will consult all ministries before raising FDI caps: Sharma
6 July 2013 10:30 PM GMT
With Defence Minister A K Antony sharply opposing raising the FDI cap in the sector to 49 per cent, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Friday said the government will take into account views of all ministries before any liberalisation.
'This is a dialogue within the government. The finance minister and me and many of our colleagues have been in favour. But defence is a sensitive sector. Our aim is for a calibrated approach,' he said.
Sharma said nobody was opposed to induction of new technologies of manufacturing systems in the country and a consensus would happen when it is discussed.'Defence we are not taking up unless and until the meetings are convened,' Sharma said. Antony in a letter to Sharma has opposed the Industry Ministry's proposal to hike Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap in the sector to 49 per cent from the existing 26 per cent.
'Allowing foreign companies to set up manufacturing/ assembly facilities here would be a retrograde step as it will stymie the growth of indigenous design and development, and our dependence on foreign countries and OEMs for modern weapons will get perpetuated,' Antony wrote in the letter.
'This is a dialogue within the government. The finance minister and me and many of our colleagues have been in favour. But defence is a sensitive sector. Our aim is for a calibrated approach,' he said.
Sharma said nobody was opposed to induction of new technologies of manufacturing systems in the country and a consensus would happen when it is discussed.'Defence we are not taking up unless and until the meetings are convened,' Sharma said. Antony in a letter to Sharma has opposed the Industry Ministry's proposal to hike Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap in the sector to 49 per cent from the existing 26 per cent.
'Allowing foreign companies to set up manufacturing/ assembly facilities here would be a retrograde step as it will stymie the growth of indigenous design and development, and our dependence on foreign countries and OEMs for modern weapons will get perpetuated,' Antony wrote in the letter.
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