Government of India has provided some special privileges to Non-resident Indians (NRIs) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) in areas of foreign exchange, foreign investments including foreign in financial sector, real estate etc. These privileges are over and above the rules applicable to non-residents foreigners.

In a nutshell, NRIs / PIO are granted the following facilities:

• Maintenance of bank accounts in India
• Investment in securities/shares of, and deposits with Indian firms/companies
• Investments in immovable properties in India

For more details, please log on to the following sites.

Policies, Incentives and Opportunities for Overseas Indians January 2005: http://moia.gov.in/shared/sublinkimages/51.pdf
Ready Recknor for NRIs for Investment in India: http://siadipp.nic.in/publicat/readyrec.htm
Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion: http://dipp.nic.in
Reserve Bank of India: http://www.rbi.org.in/home.aspx
FAQ on Foreign Exchange Facilities for Residents: http://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/FAQView.aspx?Id=53