New Delhi: In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s focus on accelerated economic growth, the Union home ministry has slashed the time taken in security clearance for FDI projects in sensitive sectors, including power, telecom, ports and airports, from 120 days to 53 days.
Sources said to make India an attractive investment destination, the deadline for security clearance of projects would be reduced further as the home ministry is integrating its online system with other ministries that initiate investment proposals.
A project’s security clearance by the home ministry is a time-consuming process as it involves background checks on investors by agencies like the Intelligence Bureau and the Research & Analysis Wing.
“By integrating our online systems with other ministries we plan to reduce the 53-day period to almost half. Other systems are also being put in place to expedite security clearance,” a senior ministry official said.
The home ministry has already made significant improvement by cutting down the duration for security clearance by almost half ever since the Modi government came to power four years ago by giving various agencies a “fixed deadline’’ and making officials accountable in case of delays, he said. The need for speedy security clearance for projects was one of the issues discussed in a meeting chaired by home minister Rajnath Singh to review the ministry’s online and cyber operations.
Officials said that the ministry would soon revamp its cyber security operations with special focus on checking misuse of cyber space by terror and criminal elements, including those in Kashmir and Naxal-hit states.
A special unit would deal with the menace of child pornography and circulation of obscene material on social media. For this, the ministry plans to launch an online cyber crime reporting portal.
The portal will be integrated with all states and Union territories where people would be able to lodge complaints directly. From the portal, complaints would be forwarded to law enforcement agencies for investigation and removal of the objectionable content. It would also deal with cases of online financial frauds, an official said.
