As BYD seeks India expansion, its executives find it tough to get visas

BYD is far from being an outlier, as several Chinese companies from various sectors have faced challenges in getting visas for travel to India

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Officials of China's electric carmaker BYD Auto have been facing difficulties in obtaining Indian visas for over a year, according to a report by Mint. These officials have been planning a trip to India to hold in-person discussions with executives from Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd regarding an electric vehicle (EV) project in India.

Due to visa constraints, meetings between BYD and Megha executives have been taking place in neighbouring countries such as Nepal, Sri Lanka, and China. As of now, no official reason has been provided for the denial of Indian visas to BYD executives, said people familiar with the matter.

India-China Relations

Relations between India and China have soured following clashes along the India-China border in the Galwan region of Ladakh, resulting in the death of twenty Indian soldiers. This incident has strained relations between the two Asian nations. The difficulties faced by BYD are not isolated; several other Chinese companies across various sectors have also encountered challenges in securing Indian visas, according to the Mint report.

Megha Engineering and BYD Project

Megha Engineering is negotiating with BYD to assemble the Atto 3 and e6 electric cars in India. However, their proposal for a $1 billion equal joint venture is still pending approval from India's Department for the Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Mint reported.

In a policy shift in April 2020, the DPIIT introduced amendments to the foreign direct investment (FDI) rules, mandating government clearance for all FDI inflows from countries sharing a land border with India.