India is close to opening all domestic sectors except a few like defence, atomic energy and space to foreign direct investment (FDI) from Pakistan, a move that could help build confidence in normalising cross-border trade.
Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee is said to have approved a commerce ministry proposal to amend rules under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (Fema), 1999, which bars all forms of investment from Pakistan. The move could lead to the Reserve Bank of India notifying the changes so that the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) could issue a press note allowing such investments, experts said.