Increase FDI in telecom to 100 per cent: Parekh panel

A high-level committee, headed by HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh, has recommended raising the foreign investment limit in telecom service companies to 100 per cent from 74 per cent at present.

The Parekh Committee made the suggestion in an interim report submitted to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on ways to meet the funding needs of the infrastructure sector, estimated to cost Rs52,00,000 crore (around $1 trillion) during the current five-year plan.

The committee has also recommended a hike in rail fares and electricity tariffs besides raising prices of natural gas.

The panel suggested reforms in the railways and various other sectors, including public private partnership (PPP) initiatives inn order to mobilise private investment.

These could include modernisation of railway stations, construction of elevated suburban corridors in Mumbai, development of new freight corridors, high-speed rail projects and manufacturing of diesel and electric engines, coaches and wagons, the committee suggested.

However, the panel wanted the government to address concerns over of foreign investors over the General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR), which targets companies and investors routing money through tax havens.