Foreign Direct Investment in the Indian Telecommunication Sector: An Appraisal in the Liberal Scenario Mr. Basu Tamal* * Assistant Professor., Department of Commerce (UG & PG), P.K. College, Contai., Purba Medinipur, West Bengal Online published on 27 February, 2017. Abstract FDI Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) means “investment into the business of a country by a company in another country”. The telecommunication sector of India which was under huge debt of more than Rs250, 000 crores, has got relief as Telecom Commission has approved to raise the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap from 74 percent to 100 percent. The Ministry of Commerce & Industry has taken this important decision in order to encourage foreign investors to invest in the India telecom sector. The telecom sector of India has received FDI of US$ 12, 500 million in last 13 years which contributes 7% of overall FDI inflow. In this backdrop, the present paper is an attempt to know the Government initiatives, opportunities available for FDI, investment scenario of FDI and its relationship with economic development in India as a developing country. The growth of FDI in telecommunications is significant enough as compared to the other sectors, especially it can also be said the cellular mobile and basic telephone service have significant contribution in the total FD inflows in telecommunication sector. In this context, Mauritius plays a prominent role towards contributing FDI in Indian telecommunication sector. Provision of telecom services to the rural areas in India has been recognized as another thrust area by the Government which also helps for the enormous opportunities in this sector. Therefore, telecom sector in India is one of the fastest growing sectors in the country and has been zooming up the growth curve at a feverish pace in the past few years. Although, FDI brings huge economic benefits but India as a developing country have still fear that by opening up markets to competition and foreign investment without any restrictions, they will lose control of their strategic industries. However, a stable, transparent and non-discriminatory regulatory system is the best way to attract more foreign investment. Top Keywords FDI, US$, Telecommunication Sector. Top |