India: Inward/ Foreign Investment

In April 2020, amid the economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indian government introduced Press Note 3 (“PN3”) through the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (“DPIIT”). The policy was a considered response to a specific and legitimate concern: that investors from land-border countries, China in particular, might exploit the economic distress of the pandemic to acquire stakes in Indian companies at depressed valuations. India was not alone in this assessment. Australia, France, Canada introduced comparable investment screening measures around the same time.

In order to curb opportunistic takeovers / acquisitions of Indian companies due tothe COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of India had amended the FDI Policy vide Press Note3(2020)dated17.04.2020(‘PN3’)..

Press Note 3 (2020 Series) ("PN3"), issued by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade ("DPIIT") on 17 April 2020, was introduced in response to the economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.