The government and the Reserve Bank of India announced a liberalisation of investment rules for foreign individuals in Indian equities, as part of a broader package of measures to attract foreign capital.
All individual Persons Resident Outside India (PROIs) can now invest in listed domestic companies through the Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS) — a route previously available only to Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs).
The individual investment limit under the scheme has been doubled from 5% to 10% of a company’s paid-up equity capital. The aggregate limit for all such investors has been raised from 10% to 24%.
The reform uses the existing onboarding infrastructure already in place for NRI and OCI investors, with reduced compliance requirements.
The announcement came alongside separate measures to attract greater foreign investment into government securities, including tax relief for foreign investors on government securities. Equity investments remain subject to prevailing capital gains tax rules.
