Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer or Issue of Security by a Person Resident Outside India) (Thirteenth Amendment) Regulations, 2016

RBI has, by way of a notification dated September 9, 2016 (‘FEMA 20 Notification’), amended the Foreign Exchange Management (Transfer or Issue of Security by a Person Resident Outside India) Regulations, 2000 (‘FEMA 20 Regulations’), to inter alia: (i) permit 100% foreign direct investment (‘FDI’) under the automatic route in financial services activities regulated by financial sector regulators (as may be notified by the Government of India (‘GoI’)); (ii) remove the restriction for FDI, under the automatic route, in NBFCs engaged in any one of the 18 specified activities; (iii) remove the erstwhile minimum capitalization requirements, however, capitalization norms and other limits prescribed by the relevant financial sector regulator will still apply; and (iv) clarify that in sectors where financial services are not regulated / partially regulated by a financial sector regulator, then 100% FDI is permitted under the Government approval route subject to conditions including minimum capitalization requirements, as may be decided by the Government.