Investment limit for small scale and ancillary undertakings reduced, tightening plant and machinery eligibility under industrial policy.
The Government reduced the investment limit for plant and machinery qualifying units as small scale or ancillary industrial undertakings, applying the revised ceiling to investment in fixed assets in plant and machinery whether held on ownership terms, lease, or hire purchase, while maintaining the existing lower threshold for tiny units.

Minimum capitalisation requirement imposed for non fund based financial advisory and consultancy activities, affecting foreign equity investment approvals.
Amends foreign equity investment norms for the Non Banking Financial Services sector to impose a minimum capitalisation requirement of US$ 0.5 million for non fund based advisory or consultancy activities, irrespective of foreign equity participation, and applies this requirement to investment advisory services, financial consultancy, credit reference agencies, credit rating agencies, forex broking and money changing business; other provisions of the earlier Press Notes remain applicable.

Foreign-held holding company permission to provide arm's-length support services to downstream subsidiaries and charge fees.
Foreign-held NBFC holding companies that had prior approval and have restructured into downstream joint ventures with domestic participation may render support and facilities to their downstream subsidiaries/JVs on an arm's length basis and may charge fees, provided a formal agreement is executed between the holding company and the downstream subsidiaries/JVs.

Consignment exports to Russia: RBI permits eligible exporters to ship, store in bonded warehouses and seek reimbursement under State credit.
RBI permits exports to the Russian Federation on consignment basis against repayment of State Credits to specified export houses subject to prior RBI approval and routing through a designated branch of a nominated bank; exporters must submit status proof and an auditor's certificate, ship goods to Customs Bonded Warehouses in Russia with insurance and ECGC cover as applicable, secure an L/C from BFEA calling for three delivery orders and two invoices, have the designated bank forward documents to BFEA and lodge a claim with RBI quoting permission, observe a maximum proceeds realisation period, and limit local expense remittances to five percent of F.O.B. value.

State credit reimbursement procedure requires rupee LCs, RBI confirmation and nominated bank claims within prescribed working days.
Exports to Russia may be settled by rupee denominated Letters of Credit annotated "Reimbursement against repayment of State Credits" issued or confirmed by BFEA; nominated banks must obtain RBI confirmation of reimbursement conditioned on availability of funds in BFEA's Central Account and matching LC details, register LCs via a designated Mumbai Link Branch, and submit claims in the prescribed format within the stipulated working day limit, while repayments must be used solely to finance exports to the Russian Federation.

Field classification clarifies applicability of automatic route foreign collaborations; only proposals matching prior ventures' NIC codes apply.
Defines "same field" as the four digit NIC 1987 code and "allied field" as the three digit NIC 1987 code for determining applicability of the Press Note on automatic route foreign/technical collaborations where the foreign collaborator has prior ventures or tie ups in India; only proposals matching those NIC classifications in respect of past or existing joint ventures in India attract the Press Note.

Downstream investment permission: foreign owned Indian holding companies may invest in Annexure III activities under automatic approval subject to conditions.
Foreign-owned Indian holding companies may undertake downstream investments in Annexure III activities eligible for Automatic Approval provided investments stay within permitted foreign equity limits, the investee's activities are confined to Annexure III, increases in equity result from expansion or fresh equity, and excluded categories (EOU/STP/EHTP projects, compulsory licensing items, SSI reserved items, transfers or buybacks) obtain prior Government/FIPB approval. Holding companies must notify SIA within thirty days, support inductions of foreign equity with board resolutions, agreements and consent letters, follow SEBI/RBI rules on share issue and valuation, and bring funds from abroad rather than leverage domestic markets.

Fiscal concession under Section 80 IA enables tax relief for industrial parks through a notified approval scheme.
Scheme grants tax exemptions to encourage private development of industrial model towns and parks that provide integrated infrastructure and common facilities for manufacturing, including roads, power, water, drainage, telecommunications and R&D. It establishes two application routes: an automatic approval route with disposal and communication within fifteen days for eligible filings in the prescribed form with fee, and referral of other applications to an Empowered Committee in the Ministry of Industry. The Secretariat for Industrial Assistance handles filings and issues acknowledgements and SIA numbers.

No prior approval for increases in foreign equity within approved percentage streamlines investment, subject to notification and exceptions.
Companies may infuse additional foreign equity as part of financial restructuring without prior FIPB/Government approval provided there is no change in the approved percentage of non resident shareholding; the company must notify the Secretariat of Industrial Assistance within thirty days of receipt of funds and allotment of shares. Cases involving an increase in the percentage of foreign equity or initial approvals granted by the designated clearance authority remain subject to prior FIPB/Government approval.

Dividend balancing rule altered: incremental foreign equity on subsequent infusion and certain secondary acquisitions now subject to balancing requirements.
Where dividend balancing was not imposed initially, subsequent foreign equity infusion triggers the balancing requirement only for the incremental foreign equity; this limitation also applies to secondary market acquisitions and preferential allotment/transfers to the extent they represent incremental foreign equity, provided the activity attracts the balancing condition. The applicable date is the commencement of commercial production for new ventures and the date of allotment of shares for existing ventures.

Timeframe for FDI consideration shortened to expedite government decisions on approvals and rejections.
Proposals for Foreign Direct Investment submitted to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board are to be considered within a time-frame of thirty (30) days for communicating the Government's decision-approval (including approval of IM or CCFI) or rejection-thereby modifying guideline No.2 of the earlier FDI consideration guidelines to expedite disposal of such proposals.

Delegation of powers to Development Commissioners permits specified post approval amendments for EPZ/EOU units within prescribed limits.
Delegation authorises Development Commissioners of EPZs to approve post-approval amendments for EPZ/EOU units, including enhancement of imported capital goods value within prescribed ceilings, adjustment for currency fluctuations, attestation of imported capital goods lists, capacity enhancement and broad-banding limited by additional capital goods thresholds, revision of value addition and export obligations within policy minima, disposal of obsolete capital goods on payment of duties, import of office equipment per EXIM policy, change of name and location under specified conditions, approval of additional locations within the same customs jurisdiction, extension of approval validity within delegated limits, and merger of units under the same Commissioner.

De-licensing of bulk drugs permits manufacture without industrial licence, requires IEM filing; recombinant DNA products remain licenced.
De-licensing removes industrial licensing and public-sector reservation for Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Tetracycline, Oxytetracycline and Folic Acid, while products made by re-combinant DNA technology, in vivo nucleic acid active principles, and specific cell- or tissue-targeted formulations remain under compulsory licensing. Entrepreneurs must file an Industrial Entrepreneurs' Memorandum with the Secretariat for Industrial Assistance; LOI holders need only file Part B of the IEM at commencement of commercial production but may file an initial IEM if variations to LOI or licence conditions are contemplated.

Export relaxations for cotton yarn allow EOUs/EPZ units greater sourcing flexibility while retaining domestic-use requirements for lower counts.
Extension of export relaxations permits EOUs and EPZ units to manufacture and export cotton yarn without prior count and sourcing restrictions for a limited period while maintaining the domestic cotton usage requirement for lower counts; prior modifications to Press Notes remain effective and investors are directed to note the revised policy and raised quantitative ceiling for lower-count exports.

Foreign equity liberalisation for construction projects permits automatic approval for full foreign participation in specified infrastructure sectors.
Press Note permits 100% foreign equity on the automatic route for construction and maintenance of roads, highways, vehicular bridges, toll roads, vehicular tunnels, ports and harbours, subject to an overall project investment ceiling; it adds a new entry D-2 to Annexure III, modifies the related Part C entry, and requires applicants to specify activities using the National Industrial Classification when applying to the Reserve Bank of India.