Government may allow foreign direct investment in "branded and dedicated retail segment" in an attempt to boost investment in employment generating sectors.

"FDI policy cannot be static... Some areas where employment generating potential is very high are under consideration like branded and dedicated retail segment, where it did not distress the existing employment scenario," Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said on Thursday.

However, he said government will not consider those sectors where existing employment scenario will get distressed like FDI in retail segment of department stores.

Nath said government was considering further simplifying procedures to facilitate enhanced inflow of FDI into the country which had witnessed a growth of 68 per cent in the first six months (April-September) of the current fiscal to $2.38 billion from $1.41 billion in the corresponding period previous fiscal.

About Press Note 18, he said government was reviewing it and would come out with policy guidelines within a fortnight. He said a differential policy would be followed for companies which already had joint ventures and which are entering into fresh ones.

Press Note 18 makes it mandatory for the foreign joint venture partners to take no-objection certificate from existing Indian partners to make fresh investment in the country.