India plans to slash red tape, roll out red carpet for FDI

The effort is led by DPIIT under the commerce ministry, which oversees FDI policy review

- Dhirendra Kumar

The Centre is planning to make it easier for foreign investors to bring in money by reducing red tape in foreign direct investments (FDI), two people involved in the process said.

Later this week, government officials will meet industry executives to discuss how rules can be simplified and made more investor-friendly.

At present, foreign investors need to fill out several forms and use different portals for approvals and reporting. These include Form FC-GPR for issuing shares to nonresidents, Form FC-TRS (Foreign Currency-Transfer of Shares) for share transfers, the annual foreign liabilities and assets (FLA) return to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Form ESOP (employee stock option plans) for stock options granted to foreign employees, and separate filings for downstream investments. In some cases, investors also need to apply for government approval through the National Single Window System (NSWS).