Restrictions have been relaxed or lifted altogether in several areas, including aircraft maintenance, commodity exchanges, credit information, oil refineries and titanium mining.

However, the move to liberalise the country's FDI rules has not been universally welcomed, with the Communist Party of India (CPM) taking particular issue with the relaxations.

According to a report in the Economic Times last week, the CPM urged the government to think again, arguing that the move contravened the pledge made by the authorities under the auspices of the National Common Minimum Programme to encourage FDI only in selected areas, including hi-tech, infrastructure, and export.