NATH ASKS STATES TO PARE FDI PROCEDURES

Foreign investors can look forward to faster clearances as the government intends to significantly bring down time taken for processing of FDI proposals by state governments. Commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath has written to states to cut down the number of procedures for permitting foreign investments in the states. The minister has urged states not to take more than 4-5 days for clearances. At present, it takes several months for a foreign investor to set up business after getting clearances from the department of industrial promotion and policy (DIPP) and foreign investment promotion board (FIPB) due to delays at the state level. “Companies should not be asked twice for scrutinisation of their plans. As they have all their proposals duly cleared by the Centre, states should just give their go-ahead. We have asked National Institute of Urban Affairs to prepare a report on how to bring down the time taken for mutation and transfer of properties which is a very lengthy process,” a senior DIPP official said. At present, there are around 60-62 payments to be made by the investor to various state authorities. According to officials, states have been advised to evolve a single-window system for all necessary payments in order to save time. “Transaction costs should be less to make procedures investor-friendly,” the official said. Currently, it takes two months of rigorous exercise for a buyer to get a property mutated or transferred in his name. It is believed that foreign investors are wary of investing in India’s real estate mainly due to red tape. States have also been asked to computerise the system of land titles within four years through the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. States have been advised to enter into public-private partnership with IT companies for maintenance of title records. “Linking of land record computerisation with that of registries in the states should be explored. Fresh thinking needs to be done to devise ways to bring down the time taken,” the official added – www.economictimes.com