Defence FDI to profit firms at home: Finance Minister

New Delhi: Days after presenting his maiden Budget in the Parliament, Union finance and defence minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday termed the decision to raise FDI limit in defence sector to 49 per cent a “significant step”. He stated that it would help in establishing indigenous military industry and suggested that any further increase could have created “larger complications domestically”.

“Our assessment of the market is that the 49 per cent FDI limit in the sector, would be a significant step in establishing domestic defence market. The public opinion and Parl-iament’s opinion in India is ready to accept the proposal that I have made,” he told a TV channel.

“Other proposals may have created larger complications domestically,” he said. Mr Jaitley also added that the public opinion was “more comfortable” with the proposal to have 51 per cent Indian control over these companies in future.