Finally, the government has woken to the need for granting speedy clearances to projects in the oil and gas, and infrastructure sectors.
This comes in the wake of foreign investors losing interest in hydrocarbon exploration in India. Work in nearly 70 oil blocks awarded under the New Exploration Licensing Policy had come to a grinding halt due to the lack of clearances.
While the move is welcome, it comes at a time when there is growing “India fatigue” among investors abroad. It reinforces the feeling that the government did not do enough and in good time. Why was the clearance board not established earlier? There were no contentious political issues involved. Clearly, the government was slumbering.
