CITU flays Centre's 'reckless' easing FDI policy

New Delhi: In growing clamour against Centre's move of easing FDI in 15 key sectors, including defence, airlines and banking, Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) Thursday urged its members for a nationwide protest against the "anti-people and reckless decision".

Terming the Centre's decision as a "retrograde design" of harming the country's economy, CITU said that the move was a desperate attempt at appeasing the BJP Government's foreign patrons in the wake of the drubbing it got during the Bihar Assembly polls.

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"CITU denounces the reckless move in liberalising FDI in numerous sectors including core and strategic sectors of economy much to the detriment of national interests.

"We call upon working people to unitedly condemn such desperate bid to make this country a hunting ground and object for loot and exploitation and raise their voice of protest and opposition," CITU general secretary Tapan Sen said in a statement.

Sen claimed that none of the concessions offered to foreign capital will benefit the national economy "except creating more job losses" through unleashing a process of further de-industrialisation and destruction of domestic capacities.

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"Such a retrograde move will kill much more jobs than it had assumed to generate," the statement read.

Pushing ahead with major reforms, the BJP-led NDA government had on November 10 relaxed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rules in 15 sectors such as civil aviation, banking, defence, retail and news broadcasting.

While 100 percent FDI has been allowed in DTH, cable network and plantation crop, overseas investment limit in up-linking of news and current affairs TV channels has been raised to 49 percent from 26 percent.

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The government relaxed conditions for FDI in single-brand retail and allowed 100 percent FDI under automatic route in duty-free shops and Limited Liability Partnerships (LLP) and eased foreign investment norms in the defence sector.

It has also raised the Foreign Investment Promotion Board's (FIPB) monetary limit to Rs 5,000 crore from Rs 3,000 crore for approving FDI proposals.