General Electric of the US is seeking government approval to set up a wholly-owned subsidiary in India to function as a holding company for the multinational''s information technology business. The subsidiary will be part of the GE International Operations Company.

GE intends to make the subsidiary a conduit for its investments in India. In addition, it will also serve as a coordination point for GE''s various support service groups in India.

Evidently GE wants to invest more in India. The group has indicated that it will bring more into its 50:50 joint venture with Tata Consultancy Services set up recently with a nominal capital to operate in the aircraft engineering-related area. The group has other IT-related operations in India. Its reportedly ambitious expansion plan in this sector may convert some of the existing operations into global sourcing points. Hence the need for a holding company.

GE''s proposal is pending with the department of electronics, the administrative department for information technology. Once the DoE clears the proposal, it will go to the Foreign Investments Promotion Board.

GE had recently secured an approval from the government to set up a subsidiary for coordinating the activities of its various sourcing centres in India. The approval is subject to the condition that it will not undertake any trading activities.