India has attracted foreign direct investment (FDI) worth approximately 4,896 crore across 29 projects since May, following the government's relaxation of norms under Press Note 2 of 2026. The revised rules permit investment without government approval from entities with up to 10 per cent non-controlling ownership by land-bordering countries.
The Indian government has relaxed foreign direct investment (FDI) norms for countries sharing land borders with India, including China, a move that amends press note 3 of 2020.
Amid a government scrutiny into the alleged breach of FDI norms by Hutchison Telecom International, the Hong Kong-based firm on Monday asserted its Indian mobile venture Hutch Essar Ltd (HEL) did not violate any regulations.
The Indian government has issued an updated Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for processing Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) applications, aiming to clear all proposals within 12 weeks, a two-week extension from the previous 10-week target, to ensure a fully paperless and transparent process.
The Delhi High Court has quashed cases registered by the Delhi Police and the Enforcement Directorate against news portal NewsClick and its editor-in-chief Prabir Purkayastha, citing that the continuation of the FIR was 'a gross abuse of the process of law' and the investment was an economic decision that 'did not spell out any criminal offence'.
Retail, telecom, media and a host of sectors in which foreign direct investment is restricted stand to gain from changes in FDI policy that the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs cleared on Wednesday linking approvals to the concept of control for the first time.
In the aviation sector, 100 per cent FDI is allowed under automatic route for MRO (maintenance, repair, overhaul), ground handling, and aircraft purchase.
The Indian government is reportedly considering increasing the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in the pension sector to 100 per cent, bringing it in line with the insurance sector. A Bill to amend the PFRDA Act, 2013, is expected in an upcoming Parliament session.
The decision would help provide ease of doing business and also lead to larger FDI inflows contributing to growth of investment, income and employment.
The CAIT has complained to the Commerce Ministry to take action against these companies.
Anand Sharma said the Rs 2,060-crore Jet-Etihad deal falls in line with new 'control' definition.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in India rose 18 per cent to $35.18 billion during April-September this fiscal year, while the inflow from the US more than doubled to $6.62 billion during the first half of this fiscal, according to government data released on Monday. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) during April-September FY24 stood at $29.79 billion.
Gandhi had, on April 12, flagged the issue of alleged takeover of some Indian companies after those became vulnerable in the wake of the economic slowdown.
The investment limit for foreign entities in Indian stock exchanges will be enhanced from 5 per cent to 15 per cent on par with domestic institutions.
Another roadblock to be removed from FDI path; Load on insurance chest.
'India-China economic ties are likely to take a hit in the wake of the new situation, but that also provides India with a new opportunity to strengthen its manufacturing base,' points out Dr Rajaram Panda.
The deficit increased to $ 57.2 billion or 2.1 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2018-19 as against 1.8 per cent in the previous year.
Ahead of the key vote by Hutchison Telecom shareholders on sale of Indian assets to Vodafone, the Hong Kong-based firm and its minority partners in Hutch-Essar have asserted that their investments met foreign direct investment norms
The Indian government is set to accelerate reforms, including measures to enhance foreign direct investment, speed up divestment, and boost asset monetisation, to maintain economic growth despite rising fuel and fertiliser import costs driven by the West Asia crisis.
The government is considering to tweak FDI policy in retail sector so as to allow global chains like Walmart, Carrefour and Tesco to open multi-brand stores in non-hilly cities with population less than one million.
India's largest traders' association CAIT on Tuesday said few multinational e-commerce giants with a heavy arsenal of funding are attempting to flout foreign investment guidelines for the sector and demanded strict enforcement action. Releasing a whitepaper on the e-commerce policy, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said e-commerce entities have "structured their relationship as marketplace with sellers in a such a way that they are in a position to control either seller on their platform or the inventory and also escape the scrutiny of the enforcement agencies." "Under the guise of such control or ownership over sellers, the issue also permeates from being a mere FDI policy violation to also being an anti-competitive conduct," it said.
Asking the government to tweak FDI norms in multi-brand segment, retailers said sourcing rules must be made similar to that of single brand while demanding foreign firms be allowed to put only 50 per cent of first tranche of investment in back-end infrastructure.
India may adopt a "calibrated" and a "step-by-step" approach to easing norms on investments originating from China, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday. He was in a conversation with A K Bhattacharya on Day 1 of Business Standard's two-day annual event, Manthan 2026. The minister said foreign direct investment (FDI) from China was certainly not "banned", but it goes through an approval process. "The government's approach at the moment is to accelerate the approval process."
The ministry has said a more effective monitoring mechanism could be set up jointly with the ministries of commerce and urban development to ensure FDI does not 'render policy objectives in a sensitive sector of the economy with limited practical significance'
According to the decision, such entities can now first operate through e-commerce and then open brick-and-mortar stores.
Following the notification allowing 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the insurance sector, the Finance Ministry has revised norms to remove the requirement that a majority of directors and key management personnel in an insurance company with foreign investment be Indian residents.
The government on Saturday made its prior approval mandatory for foreign investments from countries that share land border with India to curb 'opportunistic takeovers' of domestic firms following the COVID-19 pandemic, a move which will restrict Foreign Direct Investment from China.
The Department of Telecommunication is understood to have sought three months time from the Prime Minister's Office for bringing out revised guidelines for foreign direct investment to sort out security issues.
Apple CEO Tim Cook's strategic pivot, from initial rejections to local partnerships and leveraging government policies like PLI, transformed India into a major iPhone manufacturing and export hub, now accounting for one in every four iPhones assembled globally.
'It's a changing world and the opening up doesn't mean that concerns with regards to security have gone away.'
The government has relaxed FDI norms in industries such as civil aviation, petroleum and natural gas and commodity exchanges.
Representatives from four states including Maharashtra and Karnataka will also be members of the panel.
It has brought down the minimum capital requirement to $5 million from $10 million.
Enthused by 174 per cent growth in services trade this year, India is readying to make an aggressive offer in the WTO negotiations on services.
It is alleged that the company floated 32 subsidiaries in several tax haven countries to bring foreign funds to India through sham transactions.
The government on Friday said it is looking at having a uniform foreign direct investment cap in different business segments within a sector as part of the review to streamline foreign investment regulations.
The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the extension by four months, the deadline for telecom companies to comply with guidelines on Foreign Direct Investment.
ECBs may be allowed to put loans upto $ 500 million for rupee expenditure by Indian infrastructure companies under the automatic approval route. At present, such loans need RBI approval. The government may also raise the limit for dollar borrowings for rupee expenditure, which would need RBI approval. So, if a company is borrowing say $ 750 million, it can immediately access foreign funds up to $500 million without prior permission, but will need approval for the rest.
FIPB may be asked to vet downstream projects.
