The Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre has revised India’s foreign direct investment policy to curb “opportunistic takeovers or acquisition” of Indian companies due to the COVID-19 pandemic.With one eye on China, the government has notified that any entity of a country which shares a land border with India or where the beneficial owner of investment into India is situated in or is a citizen of any such country, can invest only under the government approval route.Following this, the Chinese government responded negatively and said that the new rules are against the World Trade Organisation’s principle of non-discrimination.In this episode of The Wire Business Report, The Wire’s Mitali Mukherjee speaks with Santosh Pai, a partner with Link Legal India Law Services to discuss how the latest development will impact FDI from China, if it is justified for India to put Chinese FDI up against the wall and how will Indian companies with large Chinese investments – like OYO, Paytm and Snapdeal – fare under such rules.
