Total 853 FDI proposals have been rejected through the Foreign Investment Facilitation Portal (FIF) since the completion of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). The proposal to abolish FIPB was approved by the Union Cabinet at its meeting on May 24, 2017. Following the dissolution of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), government authorization for foreign investment under the existing FDI Policy and FEMA Regulations was made overseen by the Department of Administration / Departments and the Department of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), the Department of Trade and Industry, by the Department.
FDI proposals, after that, had to be submitted only to the Foreign Investment Assistance Portfolio (FIF Portal) at https://fifp.gov.in, managed by DPIIT. The recommendations included in the FIF Portal are forwarded to the relevant Department of Administration and at the same time marked with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for comment and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for the necessary security wherever required in accordance with FDI / FEM Regulations.
The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the consideration of FDI proposals, including documents to be submitted, with the FIF portfolio edited and submitted by DPIIT on June 29, 2017 was amended on 09 Jan, 2020.ince then, not only has FDI increased so have the number of countries bringing FDI to India. In FY 2014-15, FDI inflows into India at just USD 45.15 billion, an increase of USD 60.22 billion in 2016-17 and a further upward annual FDI inflow of USD 83.57 billion reported during the period -FY 2021-22 despite the COVID- 19 epidemic and the recent Russian-Ukrainian conflict. In FY 2021-22 FDI was reported from 101 countries, and, reported in 97 countries in the last financial year (2020-21).
FDI proposal form in the FIF Portal
Automatic SMS notifications and emails to relevant ministers / departments are used to control the FDI proposal interaction. Secretary, DPIIT reviews the implementation of FDI recommendations in all services / departments on a monthly basis. This has accelerated the dismissal of FDI proposals. Regular training sessions are also conducted to educate services / departments on the intelligent and rapid processing of the FDI proposal. Regular round table conferences are held with investors and law firms alike to keep abreast of real issues and issues at the grassroots level. The FDI proposal form in the FIF Portal is regularly updated to reduce compliance burden on applicants. The FAQs have been updated and posted on the DPIIT website and in the FIF Portal for easy access; therefore, an ongoing effort by DPIIT to ensure that India remains an attractive destination for investors.
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