I&B Ministry
Four FDI media proposals await govt. nod
NEW DELHI: A total of 99 proposals including four relating to the information and broadcasting sector for foreign direct investment are pending before various ministries, the Parliament has been informed.
This follows the decision to entrust the work of granting government approval for FDI investment in eleven notified sectors/activities requiring government approval to the concerned ministries/departments.
Commerce and industries minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the decisions would be taken under the extant FDI Policy and Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA),
The government, through the erstwhile Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), had already been considering and taking decisions on FDI proposals in the sectors on approval route.
Consequently, the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for processing FDI proposals was issued on 29 June, 2017.
According to the SOP, once the proposal is complete in all respects, which should not be later than six weeks/eight weeks (in cases where comments of the home ministry have been sought from security clearance point of view) from the receipt of the proposal, the competent authority will, within the next two weeks, process the proposal for decision and convey the same to the applicant.
In respect of proposals where the competent authority proposes to reject the proposals or in cases where conditions for approval are stipulated in addition to the conditions laid down in the FDI policy or sectoral laws/regulations, concurrence of Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion will compulsorily be sought within 8-10 weeks weeks (in cases where comments of the home ministry have been sought from security clearance point of view) from the receipt of the proposal.
The 99 FDI proposals pending in various ministries/departments are:
|
Name of Ministry/Department |
No. of Proposals |
|---|---|
|
Department of Economic Affairs |
13 |
|
Department of Pharmaceuticals |
14 |
|
Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion |
48 |
|
Department of Telecommunications |
8 |
|
Department of Defence Production |
4 |
|
Ministry of Home Affairs |
5 |
|
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting |
4 |
|
Department of Space |
2 |
|
Department of Financial Services |
1 |
|
Total |
99 |
ALSO READ:
FDI proposals in print, broadcasting to be cleared by MIB; satellites by DoS
You Broadband-Vodafone proposal accepted, Atria & Netmagic FDI cleared
Mobile data traffic grew by 76%, tele-market to cross Rs 6.6 trn by ’20
I&B Ministry
Government sets up AI governance group to steer policy
AIGEG to align ministries, assess jobs impact, guide AI deployment.
MUMBAI: If artificial intelligence is the engine, the government is now building the dashboard and making sure everyone reads from the same screen. The Centre has constituted a new inter-ministerial body to coordinate India’s approach to AI, formalising a key recommendation from its governance framework and the Economic Survey. The AI Governance and Economic Group (AIGEG), set up by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, will act as the central platform to align AI-related policy across ministries, regulators and departments, an attempt to bring coherence to what has so far been a fragmented and fast-evolving landscape.
The group will be chaired by union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, with minister of state Jitin Prasada as vice chairperson. Its composition reflects both technological and economic priorities, bringing together the principal scientific adviser, the chief economic adviser, and the CEO of NITI Aayog, alongside key secretaries from telecommunications, economic affairs and science and technology. A representative from the National Security Council Secretariat is also part of the group, while the MeitY secretary will serve as member convenor.
At its core, AIGEG is designed to do two things: coordinate and anticipate. On the policy front, it will review existing regulatory mechanisms, issue guidance across sectors and ensure companies remain compliant with evolving legal frameworks. Beyond that, it will oversee national initiatives on AI governance, with a focus on enabling responsible innovation rather than merely regulating it.
The economic dimension is equally central. The group has been tasked with assessing how AI-driven automation could reshape jobs identifying which roles are most at risk, where those impacts may be geographically concentrated, and whether technology will augment or replace human labour. Based on these assessments, it will develop mitigation strategies and transition plans, signalling a more proactive stance on workforce disruption.
In parallel, AIGEG will work with industry stakeholders to chart a long-term roadmap for AI adoption, categorising use cases into “deploy”, “pilot” or “defer” buckets depending on readiness factors such as data availability, skill levels and regulatory clarity. The aim is to move from broad ambition to structured execution deciding not just what can be built, but what should be built now.
The group will function as the apex layer in India’s AI governance architecture, supported by a Technology and Policy Expert Committee that will track global developments, emerging risks and regulatory priorities. Together, the two bodies are expected to shape both the pace and direction of AI adoption in the country.
In a landscape where technology often outruns policy, the creation of AIGEG signals an attempt to close that gap ensuring that India’s AI journey is not just rapid, but also coordinated, accountable and economically grounded.
