The government has cleared 13 proposals, including one of car market leader Maruti, that will bring in Rs 393.36 crore (Rs 3.93 billion) of foreign direct investment into the country.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram approved the proposals on the basis of recommendations by Foreign Investment Promotion Board, an official statement said.
A major chunk of this FDI would flow through induction of foreign stake in telecom infrastructure provider Aster Infrastructure Ltd. The Secunderabad-based company plans to hike foreign stake to 72.5 per cent for Rs 232.58 crore (Rs 2.32 billion).
Chidambaram also cleared a proposal by Maruti Suzuki India to set up an exhaust system components unit in Haryana in collaboration with Japan-based Futaba Industrial Company.
Power sector company KVK Energy and Infrastructure Pvt Ltd's proposal to bring 70 per cent foreign stake will see an FDI flow of Rs 97.06 crore (Rs 970.6 million).
The company will make investments in downstream operating companies engaged in implementation of power projects.
Three proposals by Premier Travel Inn India Ltd, UK, Denso Kirloskar Industries Ltd and MTV India Ltd have been sent to Project Approval Board since they related to only royalty payment for technology transfer or brand payments only. No FDI was involved in these proposals.
Three other companies -- Devas Multimedia Ltd, Manipal Universal Learning Ltd, Bangalore and IBSS Techno Park Ltd -- have been asked to approach RBI with their proposals since there were certain "technical irregularities", official
sources said.