What is the policy for foreign direct investment in the mining sector?
The entrepreneurs desirous of bringing in foreign direct investment in the non-fuel and non-atomic mineral mining sector are eligible to bring in the foreign equity just by informing the Reserve Bank of India, termed as automatic approval. Except for precious stones and diamonds, automatic approval of foreign direct investment up to 100% is permissible for exploration and exploitation of all non-fuel and non-atomic minerals, including for gold and silver. For precious stones and diamonds, automatic approval for foreign direct investment is permissible up to 74%. However, even for precious stones and diamonds, higher foreign equity is permissible, and the Government considers such cases for approval on merits on a case to case basis through the Foreign Investment Promotion Board.