DoT’s ongoing revision on the issue of composite holdings in tele com companies with respect to foreign investment is holding up proposals made by operators like Bharti.

DoT’s ongoing revision on the issue of composite holdings in telecom companies with respect to foreign investment is holding up proposals made by operators like Bharti. The company has filed a proposal with the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to recognise that it has become operational and would therefore be governed by the provisions of the automatic route for investment under the FDI policy. Currently, the policy restricts foreign ownership in an Indian telecom company to a maximum of 74 per cent of equity, applicable for direct and indirect cumulative foreign holdings. The request has been deferred while DoT examines issues related to the FDI norms. However, it is not clear whether DoT is planning to relax the norms or modify them to ensure that loopholes to circumvent them do not exist.