IISc Bangalore among top 30 Asian universities in THE 2016 ranking IISc Bangalore jumps 10 places to 27th rank in Times Higher Education Asia rankings; 16 universities from India find place in top 200

IISc Bangalore among top 30 Asian universities in THE 2016 ranking

IISc Bangalore jumps 10 places to 27th rank in Times Higher Education Asia rankings; 16 universities from India find place in top 200

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru found a place in the top 30 Asian universities—the best yet for an Indian institution—in the Asian University Ranking 2016 by the UK’s Times Higher Education (THE).

According the rankings published on Monday, IISc jumped 10 places to be ranked 27th among the top 200 universities in Asia. Overall, 16 universities from India found a place in the top 200 list and eight of the top 10 Indian universities improved their rankings.

In Asia, the National University in Singapore was ranked the best, followed by Nanyang Technological University (also in Singapore) and Peking University in China. Among the top 10 Asian universities, Singapore, China and Hong Kong have two universities each, Japan has one and South Korea three.

Universities from 22 Asian countries participated in the ranking, which counts parameters such as learning environment, research, research citations, international outlook and industry income.

While IISc maintains its standing as the best institution in India, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay (43) was No. 2 and IIT Kharagpur (51) was the third best from India. The two IITs jumped 14 and 18 places, respectively, in 2016 from their ranking in 2015.

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IIT Guwahati and Jadavpur University, which were not in the top 100 list last year came in at 80 and 84.

Attributing the rise to a focus on excellence in education and research, IIT Bombay director Devang Khakhar said, “rigorous academic programmes and strong linkages with industry prepare our students very well for employment. We have been successful in recruiting excellent faculty members and our healthy faculty-student ratio is another major factor for moving up in the rankings”.

The ranking agency acknowledged the improved performance of Indian universities.

India is the leading South Asian country in the ranking, with 16 universities featuring in the top 200, ranking editor Phil Baty said in an email.

India’s “leading institution, the Indian Institute of Science, makes the top 30 for the first time, in 27th place”, he said.

“India has made great gains in this list in recent years—just three institutions appeared in the top 100 in 2013—but the nation still has a long way to go to compete with Asia’s leading university nations, such as China, Japan and South Korea, and scores particularly weakly on internationalization,” Baty said.

Indian universities traditionally lag behind on internationalization parameters. International faculties, international students and exchange programmes have been poor.

While government institutions are yet to improve the situation despite a clear demand from experts and industries, some private universities have started focusing on it.

For instance, in the QS Asian University rankings published last week, Amrita University in Kerala, promoted by spiritual guru Mata Amritanandamayi, did very well in all aspects of internationalization—much better than the elite IITs.

Of late, institutions and the government are trying to bring heterogeneity to campuses. IITs, Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and some other leading universities have now started making formal efforts to recruit both students and faculty staff from abroad to improve the international outlook.

The human resource development ministry has started new schemes through which it is inviting hundreds of top academics to teach and carry out research for short durations—a move that authorities believe will give the institutions more exposure to global standards, improve rankings and help improve the brand of Indian schools.

Although Baty pointed to the poor performance of several South Asian institutions due to a lack of funding and clear policy direction, he welcomed the Indian government’s move to select 20 institutions, across the public and private sector, for special funding to help them compete on the global stage.

From green slime to jet fuel: algae offers airlines a cleaner future Thomas Brueck, Munich TU’s associate professor of industrial biocatalysis, says that the biofuel from algaculture could cater for 3-5% of jetfuel needs by about 2050

From green slime to jet fuel: algae offers airlines a cleaner future

Thomas Brueck, Munich TU’s associate professor of industrial biocatalysis, says that the biofuel from algaculture could cater for 3-5% of jetfuel needs by about 2050

As airlines struggle to find cleaner ways to power jets and with an industry-wide meeting on CO2 emissions just months away, scientists are busy growing algae in vast open tanks at an Airbus site at Ottobrun, near Munich.

The European aerospace group is part-financing the Munich Technical University project to grow algae for biofuel and, although commercial production is a long way off, hopes are high.

Thomas Brueck, Munich TU’s associate professor of industrial biocatalysis, says that the biofuel from algaculture could cater for 3-5% of jetfuel needs by about 2050.

Algae can grow 12 times faster than plants cultivated on soil and produces an oil yield about 30 times that of rapeseed.

However, although aviation biofuel made from feedstocks such as flax or used cooking oil is already available, limited stocks and low oil prices mean only a few airlines, including Lufthansa and KLM, are using it on a trial basis.

“To substitute 100% of the kerosene use today, we will not do it with algae alone. We need a combination of different technologies to actually enable that substitution,” Brueck said.

Airbus also says the technology, in which it and the Bavarian government are investing more than €10 million ($11 million) between them, is still at an early stage and is not financially viable for airlines just yet.

“But we are sure that over time, we will make it possible to offer kerosene made of algae for a competitive price,” an Airbus spokesman said

World’s fastest supercomputer now has Chinese chip technology The Sunway TaihuLight supercomputer is more than twice as powerful as the previous winner occupied by Tianhe-2

World’s fastest supercomputer now has Chinese chip technology

The Sunway TaihuLight supercomputer is more than twice as powerful as the previous winner occupied by Tianhe-2

In a threat to US technology dominance, the world’s fastest supercomputer is powered by Chinese-designed semiconductors for the first time. It’s a breakthrough for China’s attempts to reduce dependence on imported technology.

The Sunway TaihuLight supercomputer, located at the state-funded Chinese Supercomputing Center in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, is more than twice as powerful as the previous winner, according to TOP500, a research organization that compiles the rankings twice a year. The machine is powered by a SW26010 processor designed by Shanghai High Performance IC Design Center, TOP500 said on Monday.

“It’s not based on an existing architecture. They built it themselves,” said Jack Dongarra, a professor at the University of Tennessee and creator of the measurement method used by TOP500. “This is a system that has Chinese processors.”

The new machine shows China’s determination to build its domestic chip industry and replace its dependence on imports that cost as much as oil. The world’s most populous country may also try to lessen its reliance on US companies for defence technology and security infrastructure. Supercomputers aren’t major consumers of chips. But being at the heart of the world’s most powerful machines helps processor makers persuade the broader market to consider their technology.

“This is the first time that the Chinese have more systems than the US, so that, I think, is a striking accomplishment,” said Dongarra. The Chinese had no machines in the 2001 list, he noted. In the latest, China has 167 entries compared with 165 for the US.

Previous supercomputer winners have had processors built on US technology from Intel Corp.—the world’s largest chipmaker—International Business Machines Corp. or a derivative of Sun Microsystems designs.

The top position was previously occupied by Tianhe-2, built on Intel chips by China’s National Supercomputer Center in Guangzhou. That system is now second, according to TOP500.

Sunway TaihuLight’s victory is a particular challenge to Intel’s dominance in computer servers, where it currently controls about 96% of the market. It announced a joint venture with a Chinese organization to domesticate some of its technology earlier this year.

Supercomputers are multiple server computers linked together in a way that allows them to process huge data sets and run the most complex calculations. While they’re hugely expensive and relatively rare, they showcase new technologies that often make their way into corporate data centers.

An Intel spokesman declined to comment on the new rankings.

Other chipmakers such as Qualcomm Inc. are working with Chinese organizations to build processors in the country. Technology provider ARM Holdings Plc, whose products are at the heart of most smartphones, is also trying to grab a slice of the Chinese market. 

Earth continues to be on record-breaking spree Rising carbon dioxide, soaring temperatures and melting ice-sheets remain a cause for concern

Earth continues to be on record-breaking spree

Rising carbon dioxide, soaring temperatures and melting ice-sheets remain a cause for concern

Halfway into 2016, the Earth has already broken several records and the news is not good. Here’s a look at a few records that have been broken this year and why we should worry about these.

Rising carbon dioxide in Antarctica: On 15 June, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that the Earth passed another alarming milestone on 23 May when carbon dioxide surpassed 400 parts per million (ppm) at the South Pole for the first time in 4 million years.

According to NOAA, the South Pole has shown a steady upward trend in carbon dioxide, though it is the last to register the impacts of increasing emissions from fossil fuel consumption which is proven to be the driver of greenhouse gas pollution.

“The far southern hemisphere was the last place on earth where CO2 had not yet reached this mark,” said Pieter Tans, the lead scientist of NOAA’s Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network in a press release. “Global CO2 levels will not return to values below 400 ppm in our lifetimes, and almost certainly for much longer,” added Tans.

The agency further noted that every year since observations began in 1958, there has been more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than the year before. While last year was the fourth consecutive year that carbon dioxide grew more than 2 ppm, 2016 is expected to be the fifth.

Soaring temperature: Global temperature records were broken yet again in May 2016, making it the hottest May on record, according to Nasa, and the NOAA. The agencies further added that this was the hottest northern hemisphere spring on record.

NOAA said the combined average temperature over global land and ocean surfaces in May was 0.87°C above the 20th century average of 14.8°C, beating the previous record set in 2015 by 0.02°C . May 2016 marks the 13th consecutive month a monthly global temperature record has been broken—the longest such streak since global temperature records began in 1880.

“The state of the climate so far this year gives us much cause for alarm,” said David Carlson, director of the World Climate Research Programme. “Exceptionally high temperatures. Ice melt rates in March and May that we don’t normally see until July. Once-in-a-generation rainfall events. The super El Niño is only partly to blame. Abnormal is the new normal.”

Melting Greenland ice sheet: This year, the Greenland ice sheet melted much earlier than usual and broke records of previous melting by a month. Based on observation-initialized weather model runs by Danish Meteorological Institute, almost 12% of the Greenland ice sheet had more than 1mm of melt on 11 April, following an early start to melting. “We had to check that our models were still working properly,” said Peter Langen, a climate scientist at DMI on the Polar Portal website, which provides research by Danish research institutes on the Arctic.

Previously, the top three earliest dates for a melt area larger than 10% were all in May—5 May 2010, 8 May 1990 and 8 May 2006.

Another study on 9 June showed that there was a dangerous trend coming about in the Arctic. The study published in Nature Communications and conducted by researchers from the University of Sheffield and Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and other institutes showed that record-high temperatures and melting records that affected northwest Greenland in summer 2015 have been linked to the anticipated effects of a phenomenon known as Arctic amplification. This refers to the phenomenon of faster warming of the Arctic compared to the rest of the Northern Hemisphere as sea ice disappears.

Solving India’s problem of jobless growth Jobless growth is a multi-cause, systemic problem. Tackling each cause individually will backfire. A more effective solution is to develop a synergistic policy matrix

Solving India’s problem of jobless growth

Jobless growth is a multi-cause, systemic problem. Tackling each cause individually will backfire. A more effective solution is to develop a synergistic policy matrix

There is an old and wise saying, “If you do not know where you are going, you will end up somewhere else.” Achhe Dinwill come into the lives of Indians when they have dignified livelihoods with decent incomes. The number one priority of the Indian government must be much faster generation of more, and better jobs. The Indian economy’s growth, in terms of gross domestic product (GDP), is the highest in the world at present. However, it is one of the slowest in the world in creating jobs. The employment elasticity of the Indian economy (the rate of jobs growth in relation to GDP growth) has been less than the global average from 2000 to 2010. The average employment elasticity of the global economy was 0.3 in this period, while India’s was only 0.2. Even more worrying is the declining trend of employment elasticity of India’s growth. It declined from 0.44 in the five years 1999-2000 to 2004-05, to only 0.01 in 2004-05 to 2009-10—close to jobless growth. The government’s sights must be fixed on the generation of more jobs as the principal goal, rather than the growth of GDP. Otherwise the Indian economy will produce more GDP and not jobs.

While the Indian government is pressing on the accelerator to induce more job growth, with its Make in India, Skill India and Startup India campaigns, technological advances may be throwing a spanner in the works. Rapid advances in digital technologies and automation are displacing people from work in all sectors of the economy—in manufacturing, in services, and even in knowledge industries. Studies in the US and Australia estimate that by 2035, 35% of all work in their economies will be automated and this can impact over 50% of present employment. The International Labour Organization says, in its Future of Work Report, “The unfurling technological revolution…is so far-reaching in its labour-replacing potential that it is inherently different from what has been experienced in the past.”

Jobless growth of the Indian economy is a “5C” problem: a Complicated Condition Created by Combinations of Causes. Automation is adding another complication to the problem. Silver bullet solutions cannot solve such systemic problems with multiple causes, nor can conventional management approaches. The conventional management approach for solving a complex problem is to break it down into its parts and then address each of them. A tough chief executive may say, “Tell me the six things to fix; I will charge six teams with relevant experts in them to fix them; and I will make sure I chase the teams to get these things done.” Sounds like an effective way to solve a big problem, except that it often makes the problem much worse. Fixes often backfire because the interactions among causes are not understood. Therefore, a fix of one part of the problem makes another part worse, and the whole system’s performance declines.

A person with poor health often has a 5C problem—a complicated condition created by combinations of causes. Many symptoms of the poor health may appear in different parts of the body. Specialists are brought in to treat each of the problems: the weak heart, the poor digestion, the mental anxiety. Often, when a specialist relieves the mental anxiety with a strong medicine, its side effects can make the digestion worse. Then an intestinal specialist may prescribe the latest drug to treat that condition. Which may affect the heart. The sub-systems of the body are parts of an interconnected system. Increasingly, what is missing in modern medicine is a general physician (GP) who has the skill to comprehend the whole system.

Jobless growth can have multiple causes. Consider just five of these: unskilled people, insufficient investment, difficulty of doing business, rigidity in labour laws (difficulties in firing employees), and inadequate (or inappropriate) social security systems. Each of these requires a solution. Therefore, separate ministries are charged with the development of policies and their implementation to address these problems. Then, their progress is closely monitored as it should be. And a competition between them begins. Which is the best ministry, and the best minister? Competitiveness can make cooperation, which is vital to solve 5C problems, even more difficult to obtain.

If the big goal for skill development—skilling up several hundred young people within a few years, which is the goal of the new skills ministry—is achieved before jobs are available for these skilled persons, it will make the social and political problem of joblessness worse, though the skills ministry will have met its goal. Rallying more investments before ease of doing business improves will create more disappointed investors with more stories of the difficulty of doing business in India, which will make it even more difficult to attract more investors. The introduction of new technologies will require new skills which will be learnt mostly on the job where the new technologies are being applied. Flexibility in hiring and firing will reduce employers’ incentives to train their workers. And, more flexibility for employers before social security systems are improved will create social and political pressures against the reform of labour laws. When the system is not considered as an integrated one, there will be many fixes that will backfire and prevent the generation of more jobs faster.

Jobless growth, in spite of high GDP, now complicated by advances in labour-displacing automation, is a 5C problem. 5C problems require “5S” solutions. 5S solutions proceed through three broad stages. First, understand the System. Then, project plausible Scenarios of the future states of the system. Thereafter, Steer Synergistic Solutions.

“Generative Scenario Planning” is a 5S methodology which is much better suited for solving India’s 5C job growth problem than are conventional approaches to policy formulation and implementation. In the first step of generative scenario planning, diverse experts and stakeholders are brought together to brainstorm what are the forces complicating the situation. Each, like the blind men around the elephant, can see a part of the whole picture. Putting their perspectives together, they can see a bigger picture emerging, in which they will find questions to explore. This step is akin to the view a good GP would take of the condition of the body. A good GP generates a good hypothesis or two, and then recommends that a few tests be conducted to understand the condition better, before beginning any treatment.

Similarly, in the second step of the generative scenario process, a few, potentially high-impact factors that require to be much better understood are examined, by consulting relevant experts and gathering data. In the third step, the interactions among these forces are examined to develop a model of the system. The system model focuses on the interactions among the forces. By focusing on the interactions, it anticipates fixes that can backfire, which conventional management approaches that pursue solutions in silos are often blind too. It also enables the solutions to the parts to be modulated, to reduce any unintended bad effects good solutions to one part could have on another. The system model also helps to locate the “high leverage” points, or “pivotal” points in the system. Concerted action at these points can cause the system to take a different course into the future.

With these insights—a broad system model, and its pivotal points—plausible scenarios can be projected of the future. If the forces play out in one way, with action at the pivotal points, then one scenario can emerge. If, on the other hand, other actions, or no actions are taken at the pivotal points, other scenarios can emerge. Scenarios are not predictions of the future. They are guides to what is likely to emerge if some actions are taken, and if forces play out as they may. Scenarios provide a steering mechanism, by providing directions for policies, and by analysing the early warning signals that should be watched out for. They are tools for Steering Synergistic Solutions.

The solution to India’s need to create more jobs faster is to urgently apply a more effective process to develop a good, synergistic policy-matrix. Generative scenario planning, a 5S process for 5C problems, provides a good framework.

Draft National Forest Policy proposes green tax to address forestry woes Once finalized, the National Forest Policy will guide the forest management of the country for the next 25-30 years

Draft National Forest Policy proposes green tax to address forestry woes

Once finalized, the National Forest Policy will guide the forest management of the country for the next 25-30 years

The environment ministry has released the draft of India’s new National Forest Policy (NFP), proposing the levy of a green tax for facilitating ecologically responsible behaviour, supplementing financial resources essential to address forestry woes.

NFP is an overarching policy for forest management to bring a minimum one-third of India’s total geographical area under forest or tree cover. The proposed NFP follows the last edition in 1988.

“Forests and trees constitute nearly one fourth of the geographic area of the country. Protection of this vast and valuable resource, improving and increasing the forest and tree cover requires adequate investment keeping in view the pressures on these forests, and the ecosystem services that they provide to the nation. Large tracts of forest area in the country have degraded due to immense biotic pressure and lack of adequate investment,” says the draft policy.

“The budget of the forestry sector should be appropriately enhanced so that the objectives enshrined in this policy can be achieved. Environmental cess, green tax, carbon tax etc. may be levied on certain products and services for facilitating ecologically responsible behaviour, garnering citizen’s contribution and supplementing financial resources,” the policy said.

According to the India State of Forest Report 2015, released in December 2015, India’s forest and tree cover makes up 24.16% of its geographical area. Read here

The ministry put the draft policy in the public domain last week and sought public feedback by 30 June, providing only 15 days for stakeholders to comment on its provisions. Once finalized, the policy will guide the forest management of the country for the next 25-30 years.

The ministry of environment, forests and climate change (MoEFCC) started working on revising the 1988 version of the forest policy to come up with an overarching policy to address pressure exerted on forest resources by rapid economic development. Read more

The policy has been prepared by the Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), run by the environment ministry.

Besides specifying how to manage forests, the draft policy said, “Other ecosystems such as alpine meadows, grasslands, deserts, marine and coastal areas should be protected and managed as well.”

It also calls for “safeguard(ing) forest lands by exercising strict restraint on diversion for non-forestry purposes” like mining and other industrial projects.

Diversion of forests for industrial projects has been a contentious issue in the country with environmentalists calling for a more sustainable approach that would leave pristine forests untouched.

“Forest land diversion projects related to mining, quarrying, construction of dams, roads and other linear infrastructure need to adopt special caution. Use of state-of-the-art technology which causes minimum pollution and damage should be promoted,” the proposed policy added.

As per MoEFCC’s records, since 1980, a total of 1.21 million hectares of forest land has been diverted; the area accommodated 23,784 proposals for non-forestry purposes—primarily mining and industrial projects. Nearly 400,000 hectares have been diverted in Madhya Pradesh alone, followed by over 100,000 hectares each in Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.

The draft policy also called for developing “sound ecotourism models” with the focus on conservation while supplementing the livelihood needs of local communities.

“Ensure that tourism is responsible, does not negatively impact wildlife and its habitat and maximizes the income of the local community,” the policy said.

NDA govt overhauls FDI rules Foreign investment caps raised in seven key sectors, including aviation, defence, pharma, food products

NDA govt overhauls FDI rules

Foreign investment caps raised in seven key sectors, including aviation, defence, pharma, food products

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government on Monday opened the doors wider to foreign direct investment (FDI) in seven sectors ranging from civil aviation and defence to food products and pharmaceuticals, seeking to attract more overseas money to create jobs and boost economic growth.

The government raised foreign investment caps in some sectors, brought more investments under the automatic route that will not entail prior approval and relaxed some conditions governing FDI to improve the ease of doing business in India.

It’s the second major overhaul of FDI rules in seven months. In November, the government eased norms for overseas investment in 15 sectors. The announcement came on a day the equity and currency markets battled investor concerns over Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan’s announcement on Saturday that he will return to academics at the end of his tenure in September and will not seek an extension.

A meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided on the measures to make India an attractive destination for foreign investors, the government said in a statement. FDI inflows into India rose to $55.46 billion in 2015-16 from $36.04 billion two years ago.

The government will also soon bring out a small negative list of sectors that will spell out some caps and conditions attached to foreign investments.

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Girish Vanvari, head of the tax practice at KPMG in India, said the government’s move to ease the FDI regime was well-timed.

“It actually opens up the country to the global world. The liberalization of limits in defence, brownfield pharma, airports, private security services, food processing etc can be game changers and be a huge source of employment creation. The move to prescribe a small negative list for FDI with most sectors under the automatic route is a big mindset shift,” Vanvari wrote in a note.

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Defence

According to the changes announced on Monday, the government has made it easier for foreign investors to hold more than 49% (up to 100%) in the defence sector.

“Foreign investment beyond 49% has now been permitted through government approval route, in cases resulting in access to modern technology in the country or for other reasons to be recorded,” the statement said, adding that an earlier condition of access to state-of-the-art technology in the country has been done away with.

This limit has been made applicable to manufacturing of small arms and ammunitions covered under Arms Act 1959.

The defence FDI policy amendment introduced by the government is pragmatic because state-of-the-art technology hadn’t been defined in the previous policy, said Pierre de Bausset, president, Airbus Group India.

“The new policy wording communicates the realization that there may be several other genuine reasons for the government to allow more than 49% stake to the foreign OEM (original equipment manufacturer) in a joint venture with an Indian company and they want to take advantage of these for the benefit of the indigenous industry,” Bausset said. (read more here )

Civil aviation

India will also allow overseas entities—excluding airlines—to own 100% in domestic airlines. Currently, up to 49% FDI is allowed under the automatic route in domestic airlines (scheduled air transport service/ domestic scheduled passenger airline and regional air transport service).

“It has now been decided to raise this limit to 100%, with FDI up to 49% permitted under automatic route and FDI beyond 49% through government approval. For NRIs (non-resident Indians), 100% FDI will continue to be allowed under automatic route,” the government said.

Investment by foreign airlines in domestic airlines will, however, be limited to 49% of paid-up capital.

The government has also allowed 100% FDI under the automatic route in so-called brownfield airport projects with the aim of modernize existing airports. Brownfield projects refer to existing facilities requiring expansion and refurbishment.

Earlier, only FDI up to 74% in brownfield airports was allowed under the automatic route, with investments beyond 74% requiring prior government approval.

Amber Dubey, partner and India head of the aerospace and defence practice at consulting firm KPMG, said the opening of FDI will help bring in much-needed funds and help airlines expand their fleet.

“We may see its positive impact over the next 6-12 months. Though equity holding of foreign airlines is still limited to 49%, a foreign airline can join hands with its sovereign fund or private investors and set up a 100% foreign-owned airline in India,” Dubey said.

“The likely increase in competition will bring down prices and enhance air penetration in India—both international and domestic. Indian carriers can now look for enhanced valuations in case they wish to raise funds or go for partial or complete divestment,” Dubey said. (read more here )

Broadcasting, pharma

It also did away with the need for prior approval of foreign investment in the broadcasting sector, allowing 100% FDI via automatic route for broadcasting carriage services, allowing direct-to-home (DTH) TV operators, cable network companies and mobile television firms to raise 100% FDI under the automatic route.

Earlier, these investments were subject to approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).

The government allowed up to 74% FDI under the automatic route for investments in brownfield pharmaceutical projects with investments beyond 74% under the approval route.

The current policy allowed 100% FDI under the automatic route in greenfield pharma (projects built from scratch) and up to 100% FDI in brownfield pharma projects under the government approval route. (read more here )

Single-brand retail

But taking into account its Make in India initiative aimed at promoting manufacturing, the government sought to streamline the waiver from local sourcing norms under single-brand retail to companies with state-of-the-art and cutting edge technology.

It limited the exemption to three years, with the option of a subsequent five-year extension, to encourage such manufacturers to source from India.

The exemption to firms with state-of-the-art and cutting- edge technology will be limited to eight years, said Ramesh Abhishek, secretary, department of industrial policy and promotion, adding that the government will inform Apple Inc. about the new changes.

Apple, the maker of iPhones and iPads, was among the few companies that had sought a waiver from the mandatory sourcing norms from the government to enable it to open exclusive Apple stores. (read more here

Other measures

The government allowed 100% FDI under government approval route for retail, including through e-commerce, in food products manufactured or produced in India.

It also raised the foreign investment limit in private security agencies to 74% from the existing 49%. While investments up to 49% will be under the automatic route, investments above 49% will be subject to government approval.

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It also rationalized rules for setting up of branch offices, liaison offices and project offices for businesses in defence, telecom, private security and information and broadcasting, doing away with the need for approval from Reserve Bank of India or a separate security clearance in cases where FIPB or ministry approval have been received.

The government also did away with some conditions surrounding 100% FDI in animal husbandry, breeding of dogs, pisciculture, aquaculture and apiculture under automatic route.