EXTERNAL COMMERCIAL BORROWINGS (ECB) POLICY - LIBERALISATION OF DEFINITION OF INFRASTRUCTURE SECTOR
A.P. (DIR SERIES 2013-14) CIRCULAR NO. 48, DATED 18-9-2013
Attention
of Authorised Dealer Category - I (AD Category – I) banks is invited to
the A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No. 5 dated August 1, 2005, A.P. (DIR
Series) Circular No. 20 dated October 8, 2008 and A.P
. (DIR Series)
Circular No. 38 dated March 02, 2010 relating to External Commercial
Borrowings (ECB).
2. The existing definition of infrastructure sector
for the purpose of availing ECB includes: (i) power, (ii)
telecommunication, (iii) railways, (iv) road including bridges, (v) sea
port and airport (vi) industrial parks (vii) urban infrastructure (water
supply, sanitation and sewage projects), (viii) mining, exploration and
refining, (ix) cold storage or cold room facility, including farm level
pre-cooling, for preservation or storage of agricultural and allied
produce, marine products and meat.
3. Taking into account the
Harmonised Master List of Infrastructure sub-sectors and Institutional
Mechanism for its updation approved by Government of India vide
Notification F. No. 13/06/2009-INF dated March 27, 2012, it has been
decided to expand the existing definition for infrastructure sector for
the purpose of availing ECB. The expanded infrastructure sector and
sub-sectors for the purpose of ECB include:
(a) Energy which
will include (i) electricity generation, (ii) electricity transmission,
(iii) electricity distribution, (iv) oil pipelines, (v)
oil/gas/liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage facility (includes strategic
storage of crude oil) and (vi) gas pipelines (includes city gas
distribution network);
(b) Communication which will include
(i) mobile telephony services/companies providing cellular services,
(ii) fixed network telecommunication (includes optic fibre/cable
networks which provide broadband/internet) and (iii) telecommunication
towers;
(c) Transport which will include (i) railways
(railway track, tunnel, viaduct, bridges and includes supporting
terminal infrastructure such as loading/unloading terminals, stations
and buildings), (ii) roads and bridges, (iii) ports, (iv) inland
waterways, (v) airport and (vi) urban public transport (except rolling
stock in case of urban road transport);
(d) Water and
sanitation which will include (i) water supply pipelines, (ii) solid
waste management, (iii) water treatment plants, (iv) sewage projects
(sewage collection, treatment and disposal system), (v) irrigation
(dams, channels, embankments, etc.) and (vi) storm water drainage
system;
(e) (i) mining, (ii) exploration and (iii) refining;
(f)
Social and commercial infrastructure which will include (i)
hospitals (capital stock and includes medical colleges and para medical
training institutes), (ii) Hotel Sector which will include hotels with
fixed capital investment of Rs. 200 crore and above, convention centres
with fixed capital investment of Rs. 300 crore and above and three star
or higher category classified hotels located outside cities with
population of more than 1 million (fixed capital investment is excluding
of land value), (iii) common infrastructure for industrial parks, SEZs,
tourism facilities, (iv) fertilizer (capital investment), (v) post
harvest storage infrastructure for agriculture and horticulture produce
including cold storage, (vi) soil testing laboratories and (vii) cold
chain (includes cold room facility for farm level pre-cooling, for
preservation or storage or agriculture and allied produce, marine
products and meat.
4. All other aspects of ECB policy shall remain unchanged.
5.
These instructions shall come in to effect immediately and are subject
to review based on the experience gained in this regard.
6. Necessary
amendments to the Foreign Exchange Management (Borrowing or Lending in
Foreign Exchange) Regulations, 2000 dated May 3, 2000 have been issued
vide Notification No. FEMA 281/2013-RB dated July 19, 2013 notified vide
G.S.R. No. 627(E) dated September 12, 2013.
7. AD Category – I banks may bring the contents of this circular to the notice of their constituents and customers.
8.
The directions contained in this circular have been issued under
Sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999
(42 of 1999) and are without prejudice to permissions/approvals
required, if any, under any other law.