Panel identifies 9 sectors for mandatory Indian control

The Arvind Mayaram committee, set up to liberalise the country's Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy, has recommended nine sectors be categorised as those where 'Indian ownership' and 'control' will be mandatory. These are FM radio, uplinking news & current affairs, print media (news & current affairs), commodity exchanges, stock exchanges along with depositories and clearing corporation, power exchanges, petroleum & natural gas refining, insurance, defence production and private security agencies. The committee has suggested FDI be capped at 49 per cent in nine sectors and clearance (except for defence production and private security agencies) be through the automatic route. It has clarified FDI will not include portfolio investments in two of these sectors - insurance and petroleum & natural gas refining.