A high-level push to deepen India’s economic ties with Japan and other partners continues, with discussions aimed at a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and a leadership-led investment roundtable to explore greater collaboration, including opportunities around GIFT City-IFSC and engagement with Indian diaspora and Canadian business leaders.

Prime Minister Modi’s initiative to double Japanese investment in India, targeting growth from about 1,500 to 3,000 Japanese enterprises, with emphasis on expanding manufacturing, financial services, insurance, and pension funds to leverage India’s market and Japan’s precision engineering.

A Nasdaq bell-ringing ceremony is planned to highlight India’s evolving financial market and attract U.S.-based institutional investors.

Contextual note: the regime keeps restrictions on direct Chinese investment via land-border or Chinese-associated entities, while easing routes for others with incidental Chinese ownership.

Reforms are designed to reduce transaction time and increase certainty for investors, with government reporting deemed sufficient under the automatic route.

Security screenings and reviews remain mandatory for all proposals, including scrutiny of data access, telecom equipment, defense links, and critical infrastructure, even under the automatic route.

Officials insist the framework calibrates scrutiny to actual ownership and control while preserving essential safeguards.

Some neighboring countries still require government approvals for FDI, though a 60-day fast-track window is available in select sectors for faster processing.

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Industry observers acknowledge potential risks to commercialization speed, including integration challenges, cultural differences, and regulatory hurdles in Japan.

ATMP and OSAT are highlighted as essential semiconductor assembly and testing segments within the value chain, with OSAT providing outsourced assembly and testing for chips.

The government aims to publish an updated model bilateral investment treaty and tighten a more predictable FDI policy as part of broader reforms to attract investment.