Cabitel India had approached the government to include wired line payphone services to the approval already granted for wireless and mobile payphone services.

The proposal was rejected on the advise of the Department of Telecom which said it did not conform to the policy guidelines.

Cabitel India has a paid up capital of Rs 82 crore. Cabitel SA and Amper SA of Spain together hold 49 per cent equity in the company.

Besides allowing wireless and mobile payphone services, the company was also granted approval in July this year for manufacture of payphones, software development, human resource development and setting up and management of card payphone network as a franchisee of licensed basic telephone operators.

Nichimen Corporation had put in a proposal to set up a wholly-owned subsidiary with foreign equity of Japanese yen 10 million for import, export, servicing and selling of machines and machine tools. The commerce ministry recommended rejection on the grounds that the proposed activities were too large vis-a-vis the proposed capitalisation. The company had also not submitted full details, the ministry observed.

The FIPB has also denied permission to Mid East Portfolio Management for inducting 48 per cent foreign equity. Mid East, a non banking financial company and merchant banker, had proposed to allot 21.94 per cent stake to Pacific International Capital Corporation of USA.

The proposal was rejected as the Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) have suspended registration of Mid East Portfolio upto February 1999.