India Boosts Investment: Goyal Seeks Industry Ideas

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has initiated a call for fresh ideas from industry stakeholders to significantly enhance India’s investment regime. This move aims to streamline existing processes and improve Know Your Customer (KYC) norms, ultimately accelerating foreign direct investment (FDI) flow and offering greater assurance to investors.

Streamlining FDI Approvals and Inflows

India currently allows 100% FDI through the automatic route across most sectors, though sensitive areas still require specific restrictions or government approval. The government is now considering strategic adjustments to further boost overseas capital inflows.

• FDI into India rose by 17%, reaching $94.5 billion in 2025-26.

These adjustments include a potential increase in the approval threshold for FDI proposals requiring Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) clearance. The proposed change would raise this limit from Rs 5,000 crore to Rs 15,000 crore, alongside easing norms for downstream investments.

Focus on Bilateral Trade and Indigenization

Minister Goyal also highlighted India’s strategic focus on securing bilateral trade agreements with various nations and economic blocs. Negotiations are actively underway with several key partners.

• Current Negotiations: Israel, Chile, Peru, Canada, GCC, Russia-led EAEU, and SACU.
• Multilateral Stance: India has not yet considered joining multilateral agreements such as the 12-member Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

Efforts are also concentrated on promoting end-to-end indigenization across manufacturing sectors. Examples include encouraging domestic titanium dioxide production for the paint industry and developing the entire semiconductor value chain.

Addressing the misuse of a semiconductor compound exemption under a trade pact with Japan, Goyal stated that a new framework is being explored. This framework aims to prevent future misuse while upholding existing Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) commitments.

Global Developments and India’s Trade Resilience

Goyal noted that the development of alternate shipping routes by Gulf countries, including new pipelines and train lines, in response to the West Asia crisis, has positively impacted India’s trade. This global recalibration has contributed to the nation’s robust trade performance.

• Exports jumped by 17.04% to $173.78 billion.
• Imports climbed by 19.27% to $292.38 billion.

Looking ahead, the government is actively considering the implementation of Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes for new sectors. These schemes would target areas where India currently faces a cost disadvantage compared to other international manufacturing locations.