InfoAlert | Press Note 3 of 2020 (April 2020)

The world is witnessing unprecedented times in light of the COVID-19 outbreak, which has led to countries across the globe adopting legal, political and economic measures which are equally unprecedented. In one such move, the Indian Government has, on April 17, 2020, released Press Note No. 3 (2020 Series) ('Press Note 3') to amend the FDI Policy with a view of curbing opportunistic take-overs/acquisitions of Indian companies. Press Note 3 comes across as a protectionist measure to save Indian companies from giving into lower valuations, in desperation to survive the COVID-19 hit economy. It provides that all FDI from countries which share a land border with India shall be subject to prior approval from the Government. Press Note 3 is scheduled to come into effect from the date of its notification under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999. INDUSLAW's Avimukt Dar, Winnie Shekhar, Harman Walia and Kumar Gaurav discuss the press note, its key implications and concerns arising from the same.