Delegation of powers allows Development Commissioners to permit disposal, imports under EXIM policy, and mergers within jurisdiction.
Development Commissioners of EPZs are authorised to permit disposal of obsolete capital goods in the Domestic Tariff Area on payment of applicable duties without a financial cap, provided disposals do not adversely affect contracted export obligations or Net Foreign Exchange. They may permit import of office equipment in accordance with the EXIM Policy and Handbook of Procedures, and may permit merger of two or more EOUs/EPZ units into one where the units fall within the same Development Commissioner and the same Commissioner of Central Excise and Customs.

Automatic approvals for EOUs and EPZ units liberalised allowing higher foreign technology fees and distinct export/domestic royalty caps.
Automatic approvals for 100% EOUs and EPZ units are liberalised so that proposals with foreign technology agreements meeting the revised lump sum and royalty ceilings payable over five years from commencement of commercial production qualify for the automatic route; non manufacturing activities outside Section 3 are eligible only if included in Para 9.1 of the EXIM Policy, and all other existing criteria continue to apply.

Automatic route restriction for foreign collaborators with prior local ventures: must obtain government approval and justify non prejudice to existing partners.
Automatic approval is unavailable to foreign collaborators who have or had prior joint ventures or technology/trade-mark arrangements in the same or allied field; a regulatory declaration is required and such cases must seek prior government approval for new joint ventures or technology transfers, providing detailed circumstances and justification. The investor must prove the proposal will not prejudice existing partners or stakeholders, and the approval authority has discretion to approve with or without conditions or to reject while recording reasons.

Export flexibility for cotton yarn allowed without count or domestic sourcing restrictions, subject to ceiling allocation and certification conditions.
Policy permits 100% EOUs and EPZ units producing cotton yarn to export yarn without count or domestic cotton sourcing restrictions subject to an overall quantitative ceiling with allocation by TEXPROCIL. Composite spinning and weaving units may export yarn without these restrictions after installation and certification as a balanced unit and commencement of commercial production, provided yarn exports do not exceed fabric exports in value terms and are governed by the Letter of Undertaking on export obligation.

FDI in non-fund financial consultancy exempted from minimum capitalisation norms, subject to corporate activity and equity restrictions.
Foreign investment in purely financial consultancy that is non-fund based is exempt from minimum capitalisation norms, on condition that the company shall not set up any subsidiary for other activities and any equity it contributes in an NBFC holding/operating company will not be reckoned as domestic equity. NBFCs carrying out fund-based activities remain subject to minimum capitalisation requirements.

Delegation of powers to EPZ Development Commissioners expands authority over capital goods approvals, additional locations and export obligation revisions.
Delegation expands Development Commissioners' authority to approve post-approval amendments: enhancement in the value of imported capital goods up to a specified additional proportion of the originally sanctioned value within a monetary ceiling; approval of additional EOU project locations within the same Central Excise and Customs Commissioner's jurisdiction where premises are custom-bonded; and prospective revision of export obligations, upward or downward, provided reductions do not fall below the minimum export obligation prescribed in EIM policy or sectoral FDI guidelines.

Foreign direct investment allowed in GMPCS licence companies subject to telecom licence and inter ministerial committee recommendation.
Foreign direct investment is permitted in licence companies operating GMPCS services subject to an equity cap and conditional on obtaining a GMPCS licence from the telecom regulator, which must be granted following recommendation of an Inter Ministerial Licencing Committee.

Foreign equity allocation in private banks permits multilateral institutions to fill NRI contribution shortfalls within the overall foreign limit.
Foreign direct investment from foreign banking or finance companies and technical collaborators is permitted subject to a specified cap; NRI equity participation is allowed up to the overall foreign equity ceiling and is inclusive of other foreign investors. To ensure the overall foreign equity ceiling is reached, multilateral financial institutions may subscribe foreign equity to cover any shortfall in NRI contributions, so long as the aggregate foreign equity remains within the overall permitted limit.

De-licensing of sugar industry preserves a siting distance restriction while requiring Industrial Entrepreneur Memoranda filing.
De-licensing removes sugar from compulsory licensing while maintaining a minimum distance restriction under the Sugarcane Control Order to prevent unhealthy competition for cane. Entrepreneurs must file an Industrial Entrepreneur Memorandum (IEM) with the Secretariat of Industrial Assistance; existing Letter of Intent holders need not file an initial IEM but must file Part B at commencement of commercial production, and may file an initial IEM if they propose variations to LOI or licence conditions.

Compulsory licensing requirement for cigarette manufacture remains; foreign investment may be approved subject to that licensing and guidelines.
Manufacture of cigarettes requires a compulsory licensing regime under the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act; foreign investment proposals for cigarette manufacture are to be considered under the prescribed investment parameters and may be approved subject to that compulsory-licence requirement and existing investment guidelines incorporated by this Press Note.

Prior environmental clearance for wood based projects must be obtained before seeking government approvals, including foreign collaboration.
Prior environmental clearance from the Ministry of Environment & Forests is mandatory before applying for Government approvals for wood based projects; applicants must enclose the Ministry's in principle clearance. Delicensing of many wood products remains subject to locational conditions and policy directions, while wood items reserved for the small scale sector set up in the organised sector or involving locational angles still require compulsory licensing under the Industries(Development & Regulation) Act. Approvals for 100% EOUs, foreign collaboration and project import certification are considered in consultation with the Ministry.

Pollution control recovery: permit manufacture of small scale reserved chemicals without mandatory export obligation after licence endorsement.
Industries recovering chemicals through pollution control processes may be authorised, by endorsement on industrial licences or new licences, to manufacture items reserved for the small scale sector without the mandatory export obligation; applicants must file the prescribed industrial licence form with full details of processes and recovered items, and the licensing secretariat will seek prior written comments from the small scale development authority before deciding.

Industrial Entrepreneurs Memorandum amendments allowed for new-form filings, subject to existing statutory and regulatory conditions.
Amendments and modifications to IEMs filed in the new form made effective from 1st July, 1998 are permitted on entrepreneur request, subject to the terms and conditions of Press Note No.17(1997) and to applicable statutes, regulations and notifications issued by Central and State Governments; earlier Press Notes had restricted amendments to clerical errors and provided for deletion of non exempt IEMs.