NEW DELHI, July 13 (UPI) -- India telecom regulators Thursday refused to rubber-stamp 74-percent Foreign Direct Investment limits on ownership of telecom companies.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) said it would continue to allow automatic FDI levels of 49 percent; however, department approval would be required for higher FDI proposals that include the 74-percent ceiling.
"Under the present conditions, 74 percent FDI under automatic route is not feasible in the larger interest of national security," the DoT said in a note to Department of Economic Affairs, Press Trust of India reported.
India has raised the ceiling for FDI to 74 percent as a means of increasing telecom investment; however the issue of foreign control over telecom companies has been a source of debate over national-security implications.
In a related issue, PTI said the DoT would take under consideration proposals to bring India's telecom fee structure in line with international benchmarks, particularly those in Asia.
