Overseas debt norms relaxed for infrastructure firms

India has eased overseas debt norms for infrastructure firms allowing oil marketing companies to finance short-term credit through external commercial borrowings but kept the overall limit unchanged for the fiscal. The panel also extended the External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) relaxation for affordable housing for two years and aviation for a few more months. In December last year, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had allowed real estate developers and housing finance companies to raise up to $1 billion through ECBs in the last fiscal to promote low-cost housing projects. The funds raised through ECBs could be used either for developing low-cost housing projects or for providing loans up to Rs 25 lakh to individuals for buying units with a price tag of Rs 30 lakh or less.