INDUSTRY ARVIND MAYARAM PANEL TO SHUN COMPOSITE CAPS, LIMIT PURVIEW New Delhi The Economic Times An ambitious

overhaul of the foreign investment regime to introduce composite caps for foreign portfolio and direct investment along with automatic approval up to a threshold appear to have been put in the deep freeze, with a high-level panel deciding to focus only on the classification of such investments. The economic affairs secretary Arvind Mayaram-headed panel, which is expected to submit its final report soon, has recommended classification of all investment above 10 percent as foreign direct investment (FDI) and below that as foreign portfolio investment (FPI) with a default ceiling of 24 percent. "We have decided to stick to the definitional change.... Any suggestion on composite foreign investment was seen as being outside panel's remit," a senior finance ministry official said. The government has already liberalised the FDI regime and lifted caps in sectors such as telecom and single-brand retail.

INDIAN COS NOT PREPARED TO FACE CRISES: EXPERT New Delhi Hindustan Times (Delhi edition) Indian companies are not yet prepared to face crisis-like situations despite hovering political and economic uncertainties, marketing guru Venkatesh Shankar said on Thursday. In the US, 52 percent of top executives feel that they need to be better prepared to handle uncertainties. However, in India, the number of unpreparedness should be much higher, said Shankar, a marketing professor and research director at the Center for Retailing Studies of Mays Business School, Texas A&M University. Shankar said some domestic firms and global giants were not changing according to customer preferences. The downfall of Nokia, Blackberry and Kodak proves the importance of innovation and understanding of customer behaviour, said Shankar, an alumnus of the Kellogg Graduate Schoo l of Management. Unclear succession plans and lack of futuristic vision are making CEOs jobs difficult, he said. For instance: Microsoft is still looking for a CEO after Steve Ballmer announced his retirement plans last August, which reflects improper succession planning, Shankar said. (Page 19)

TRENDS & SURVEYS TAXATION, INFRA HURDLES WILL HURT FDI: EY SURVEY New Delhi

Business Standard EYs India Attractiveness Survey-2014, released on Thursday, shows that though the country stays attractive to investors due to its traditional strengths such as cheap labour, its taxation and infrastructure are posing major challenges.

LABOUR COST, DOMESTIC MARKET TO DRIVE FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN INDIA: EY Shishir Sinha, New Delhi The Hindu Business Line Despite question marks on its growth story, India still is an attractive destination for foreign investment, a survey conducted by global consultancy agency EY (formerly Ernst & Young) has concluded. The survey, titled EY India Attractiveness Survey 2014, was conducted among 500 foreign investors. It said more than half (53.2 percent) of the survey respondents were considering increasing their presence in India. Of the respondents who are looking to invest in India, the majority (57.9 percent) are planning to expand their operations. Of those who are not planning any investment in India, 61.6 percent of the respondents do not have any short-term or overseas expansion plans. Technology, media and telecom (TMT) continue to remain the most attractive sectors for the future. Together these three sectors had 21.6 percent of projects during 2007 and 2012. This group was followed by industrial with 16.6 percent and business services with 11.4 percent.