Govt approved 98 FDI proposals from nations sharing border since April 2020

The government has approved 98 foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals from countries sharing land border with India since April 2020 out of 423 received from sectors including trading and electronics, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

Many of these proposals are from China, either directly or indirectly, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Parkash said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

"Since April 2020, 98 FDI proposals from countries sharing land border with India were approved by various administrative ministries/departments," he said, adding since April 2020, 423 FDI proposals from countries sharing land border with India were received.

Majority of the proposals received are in trading, technology, electronics, automobiles, renewable energy, financial services, pharmaceuticals and chemicals sectors, he added.

In April 2020, the government had 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.

Countries which share land borders with India are China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar and Afghanistan. As per that decision, FDI proposals from these countries need government approval for investments in India in any sector.