NEW DELHI. Dec 31: The Indian government* will give nod to 100-per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in highway^ and ports through an automatic approval route under the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), official sources said here yesterday, reports Xinhua.

Currently. 100-per cent direct investment in the sector is allowed only on a case-to-case basis by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), while FDI accounting for only 74 per cent in a project is allowed via the automatic route.

The new move is aimed at boosting foreign investment in the infrastructure sector. In the highways segment alone, the government is targeting to attract investments of at least 1.250 billion rupees (29.31 billion US dollars) to meet the cost of expressways that will link all major ports in the country.

The surface transport ministry has sought to raise 95 billion rupees (2.23 million dollars) in the ports sector through private investment.