Welcome to the latest bulletin of key policy decisions and high-impact news from India, presented by the Embassy of India, in Washington D.C.
Key Policy Decisions

Reserve Bank OKs Conditional Foreign Investment in LLPs

 

The Reserve Bank of India said that limited-liability partnerships (LLPs) can accept direct investment from foreign investors, subject to certain conditions. Limited-liability partnerships in all sectors where 100 percent foreign direct investment is permitted would be eligible, the bank said, with government approval. However, foreign institutional investors, qualified foreign investors and foreign venture capital investors would not be eligible to invest in LLPs, the bank said.

Top 100 Firms Must Set Up Risk Management Committees   

 

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said that the country's top 100 companies must set up risk management committees immediately to comply with revised corporate governance regulations. Risk management committees identify, evaluate and mitigate risks associated with business, interest rates, currencies and other challenges companies face. SEBI said the boards of these companies must define the roles and responsibilities of the committee and may delegate monitoring and reviewing of the risk management plan

     

Govt. Works to Speed e-Governance Projects
 
In an effort to speed up e-governance projects to increase efficiency, Central Government departments may soon have Chief Information Officers for IT adoption, a high-ranking government committee said. The plan includes several other initiatives, such as cloud implementation for individual e-governance projects, all of which are a part of the National e-Governance Plan.  
 
Reserve Bank Adds Clarity, Fairness to Currency Markets
 
Taking steps to weed out manipulation and add clarity to Indian currency markets, the Reserve Bank of India has accepted recommendations to move the markets away from a poll-based system toward a transaction-based system. The central bank has advised industry groups to act as administrators to the Indian rupee, interest rate, and foreign exchange benchmarks and to take necessary steps to implement the recommendations.

Reserve Bank: No Non-Competes for Foreign Investment in Pharma
 
The Reserve Bank of India has said that non-compete clauses will not be allowed for foreign direct investment in the pharmaceutical sector, expect in special circumstances. Non-compete clauses are common in merger and acquisitions where the sellers agree not to launch business in the same domain. In the absence of non-compete clauses, the seller can start similar business without the permission from the buyer. Foreign investors are allowed to take a 100 percent equity stake in pharmaceutical companies in India and that policy will remain the same, the bank said .

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High-Impact News
Ambassador Jaishankar: India, U.S. Share Big-Picture View of World

The future looks bright for the India-U.S. relationship, said Indian Ambassador S. Jaishankar. "India and the U.S. are today positioned to embark on a more closely collaborative path. The world the two nations seek does look similar in the big picture: with greater prosperity, more freedom, market economics, rule-based regimes and pluralistic societies," Jaishankar said while speaking at the Harvard Kennedy School in Boston.  


Indian Applications to U.S. Grad Schools Surge 32%

 

Applications by Indians to U.S. graduate schools saw a sharp increase in 2014, according to a new report, while applications from typical leader China saw an unusual decline. The report analyzed applications sent from foreign countries for the term beginning in the fall of 2014. According to those figures, applications from India increased by 32 percent, and were largely responsible for the overall increase of 7 percent in total foreign applications to U.S. schools.

 

India is Best Emerging Market Bet for Foreign Investors

Foreign investors are betting top dollar on India as growth is likely to recover at a time when other emerging markets are battling macroeconomic adjustments. Foreign institutional investors have pumped nearly $5 billion into the Indian equity market since the beginning of the year, on top of the $24.5 billion invested in 2013. At the same time, multi-national corporations continue to scale up their presence in India.   


Indian IT Firm Wipro to Hire 150 in U.S.
 
Indian IT giant Wipro will hire some 150 frontline sales staff in the United States in a development that denotes the company's twin ambitions of boosting revenue and presenting a local face in its main market. Over the next 3-5 months, Wipro will hire college graduates as well as experienced sales veterans to build up its team in U.S. cities where it does not have presence.


More than $54 Billion Invested in 113 Infrastructure Projects        

 
More than $54 billion has been invested in 113 infrastructure projects around India, as held-up projects have begun to move, raising fresh hopes of reviving industrial demand and employment. Initial numbers flowing into the cabinet secretariat suggest that nearly 90 percent of the investment in large projects have materialized
 

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