Private equity investor BC Investments IV on Tuesday sold a stake worth Rs 612 crore in Emcure Pharma through a block deal, with a domestic mutual fund emerging as the buyer. According to NSE block deal data, BC Investments IV sold 36 lakh shares of Emcure Pharmaceuticals at Rs 1,700 per share. The transaction was valued at Rs 612 crore.

The entire stake was acquired by Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund at the same price. The deal comes less than two years after Emcure Pharmaceuticals’ public listing and is among the larger block transactions in the pharmaceutical sector this year.

Shares changed hands at Rs 1,700 apiece, a discount to the prevailing market price, a common feature in large institutional transactions aimed at facilitating bulk stake sales.

Emcure has been in focus among analysts due to its strong positioning in chronic therapies and improving export prospects.

According to a recent note by YES Securities, the company is expected to benefit from multiple growth drivers over the next few years. Its core gynaecology franchise, one of the strongest in the domestic pharmaceutical market, is projected to deliver double-digit growth aided by its iron deficiency portfolio and a moderation in the drag from ferric carboxymaltose products in the hospital business.

The brokerage also highlighted opportunities from new product launches in emerging categories within women’s healthcare and the company’s distribution arrangement for legacy cardiac and diabetes brands acquired from Sanofi. Analysts believe the partnership could help Emcure strengthen specialist doctor engagement and support growth in its own cardiology portfolio.

On the international front, Emcure is expected to benefit from the scale-up of Amphotericin B production from dedicated manufacturing facilities, supporting growth in export revenues.YES Securities estimates that Emcure could deliver revenue growth of 12-13% annually over the next three years, accompanied by a gradual improvement in operating margins.

The company has built a diversified pharmaceutical business spanning women’s health, cardiology, blood-related therapies, oncology and international formulations. It also maintains a growing presence in regulated and emerging export markets.

India’s decision to restrict silver imports could make silver investments more expensive for domestic buyers in the coming months, even if global prices remain relatively stable.

The government on Saturday placed imports of silver bars with 99.9% purity and several semi-manufactured silver products under the “restricted” category with immediate effect. The move comes days after India raised import duties on gold and silver to 15% from 6% as authorities attempt to curb imports and reduce pressure on foreign exchange reserves.

India is the world’s largest silver consumer and imports more than 80% of its silver requirements.

Analysts say the latest restrictions are unlikely to completely halt silver imports, but they could significantly alter how the metal enters the country and increase domestic premiums.

“The silver import restriction does not mean India has shut the door, it means the entry is now guarded,” said Jateen Trivedi, Vice President, Research Analyst, Commodity and Currency at LKP Securities.

According to Trivedi, silver imports will now be channelled mainly through nominated agencies such as RBI-authorised banks, DGFT-approved entities and jewellers operating through bullion exchanges.

“For the domestic market, that almost always translates into higher premiums,” he said. That means Indian investors may end up paying more for physical silver compared with global benchmark prices.Analysts said one of the key indicators to monitor going forward will be the MCX-LBMA spread, the difference between domestic silver prices on India’s Multi Commodity Exchange and international London benchmark prices.

“The MCX-LBMA spread is the number to watch, because that gap shows you exactly how much extra Indians are paying versus the world price,” Trivedi said.

India imported a record $12 billion worth of silver during FY26, sharply higher than $4.8 billion in the previous financial year. In April alone, silver imports surged 157% year on year to $411 million, according to trade ministry data.

Demand over the last year has increasingly shifted towards investment buying rather than traditional jewellery and silverware consumption. Silver exchange-traded funds also witnessed record inflows as investors looked for alternatives amid rising gold prices and broader market volatility.

“Silver had been trading at a discount after the government raised import duties, but it is likely to start trading at a premium in the coming weeks,” Chirag Thakkar, Chief Executive of Amrapali Group Gujarat, said earlier.

For retail investors, that could mean higher prices for silver coins, bars and jewellery even if international spot silver prices do not rise sharply.

Trivedi said the impact on global silver prices may remain limited because India, despite being a major consumer, does not determine international benchmark pricing.

“Internationally, the impact on spot silver should be muted. India is a large consumer but not a price setter for global benchmarks,” he said.

However, he noted that trade flows could shift regionally if import demand starts getting rerouted through channels such as the UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement tariff quota mechanism.

“What could shift is physical trade flow. If demand gets rerouted through routes like the UAE CEPA TRQ, you will see regional premiums in Dubai or Hong Kong adjust,” he said.

The restrictions could also affect domestic silver ETFs and listed refiners because investors may increasingly turn to financial products when physical supply becomes harder or more expensive to access.

“Listed refiners and ETF pricing in India will also reflect the tightness, because they become the easiest access point when physical supply is gated,” Trivedi added. “Two policy moves in three days point to forex management,” he said, referring to both the import duty hike and the fresh restrictions.

India imports most of its silver from the UAE, Britain and China. Apart from jewellery and investment products, silver is also widely used in industrial applications including solar panels, electronics and electrical equipment.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded domestic equities worth Rs 1,13,810 crore in March, extending their selling trends amid the Iran-Israel war. So far, this year, they have offloaded Indian shares worth Rs 1,27,157 crore.

This has turned out to be the worst month so far, as foreign investors continue pulling out from their Indian investments amid the Iran-Israel war.

Commenting on the current trends, Dr. VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments said the weakness in global equity markets following the war in West Asia, the steady depreciation of the rupee, fears of decline in remittances from the Gulf region and concerns surrounding the impact of high crude price on India’s growth and corporate earnings contributed to the sustained selling by FPIs.

“It is important to understand that FPIs were sellers in other emerging markets, too, like Taiwan and South Korea. There is a risk-off trend in equity markets, globally after the war broke out in West Asia. The poor returns from India vis-a-vis other markets – both developed and emerging- during the last eighteen months is the principal reason for FPI’s indifference towards India. If their sustained selling strategy is to change, there should be an end to the hostilities in West Asia and decline in crude prices,” Vijayakumar said.

On Friday, FIIs sold domestic shares at Rs 4,367.30 crore while DIIs were net buyers at Rs 3,566.15 crore.

Indian frontline indices ended their two-session rally amid sharp cuts as a failure in the Iran-US negotiations dented the market mood. Elevated energy prices and a plunging rupee aggravated troubles for domestic investors. Amid high volatility, markets were mainly dragged by financials, auto and consumer stocks. Nifty settled at 22,819.60, falling by 486.85 points or 2.09% while the BSE Sensex closed at 73,583.22, declining 1,690.23 points or 2.25%.

FIIs in 2026

Foreign investors turned net buyers in February, buying shares worth Rs 22,615 crore in the domestic markets so far. In January, they sold Rs 35,962 crore worth of shares.

In 2025, the FIIs buying trends remained patchy, but the overall trend was bearish. They took Rs 1,66,286 crore from Indian markets as trade deal delay and premium valuations weighed on the sentiments.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

On 17 April 2020, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, announced a significant change to India’s foreign direct investment policy (FDI Policy) through Press Note No. 3 (2020 Series) (Press Note 3). Pursuant to Press Note 3, any investment by an entity incorporated in a country sharing a land border with India, or where the beneficial owner of the investment into India is situated in or is a citizen of such a country, requires prior approval of the Government of India.

This change was introduced in the backdrop of the economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the stated objective of curbing opportunistic takeovers and acquisitions of stressed Indian companies. At the same time, the measure was widely viewed as a response to growing geopolitical concerns, particularly in relation to investments originating from China, given the rising tensions along the Indo-China border.

Ambiguities and practical challenges under Press Note 3

Under Press Note 3, any direct or indirect investment into India from an entity incorporated in a country sharing a land border with India, or where the beneficial owner of such investment is situated in, or is a citizen of, such a country (including China, Hong Kong, Macau and other neighboring jurisdictions), requires prior approval of the Government of India. However, neither Press Note 3 nor the subsequent amendments to the Foreign Exchange Management (Non-Debt Instruments) Rules, 2019 (NDI Rules) clarified the threshold for determining “beneficial ownership”. This lack of clarity was particularly notable given that other Indian legislations, such as the Companies Act, 2013 and the Prevention of Money Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005, prescribe a 10% threshold for identifying beneficial ownership. In the absence of an express threshold under the FDI framework, considerable uncertainty emerged regarding both the ambit of the beneficial ownership test and the level within the ownership chain at which such ownership was required to be assessed.

In practice, investors often operate through multi-layered global structures spanning several jurisdictions. The absence of clear guidance on whether beneficial ownership needed to be traced up to the ultimate beneficial owner, coupled with the lack of a prescribed threshold, created significant interpretational challenges. As a result, even minority or non-controlling shareholdings held by investors from land-bordering countries, or minimal exposure to such investors within global funds, were frequently viewed as potentially triggering the requirement for prior government approval.

Consequently, a conservative interpretation of Press Note 3 emerged in practice, whereby any investment involving direct or indirect beneficial ownership from China, Hong Kong, Macau or other land-bordering jurisdictions, irrespective of the size of such ownership, could potentially require prior approval of the Government of India. This interpretation led to significant uncertainty and delays, particularly in the context of venture capital and private equity investments involving globally diversified investor bases.

In addition, the approval process itself often proved time-consuming. In several cases, obtaining approval under the Press Note 3 framework took anywhere between six and eight months, and sometimes longer. This significantly affected deal timelines and execution certainty, particularly for time-sensitive venture capital and private equity transactions.

Clarification to the Press Note 3 framework

Recognising the practical challenges associated with the implementation of Press Note 3, the Government of India has approved certain amendments aimed at providing greater clarity and improving the efficiency of the approval process. The amendments primarily address two aspects of the Press Note 3 framework, namely, the determination of beneficial ownership and the timeline for processing approvals in certain strategic sectors.

First, the amendment introduces clarity with respect to the concept of “beneficial ownership”. The revised framework aligns the determination of beneficial ownership with the standards prescribed under the Prevention of Money Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005. It provides that investments where beneficial ownership from entities of countries sharing land borders with India is limited to non-controlling holdings of up to 10% may be permitted under the automatic route, subject to applicable sectoral conditions and reporting requirements. This clarification is intended to address the long-standing uncertainty surrounding the interpretation of beneficial ownership under the Press Note 3 regime. The amendment further clarifies that the beneficial ownership test shall be applied at the level of the investor entity, thereby providing greater certainty on the level at which such ownership is required to be assessed.

Second, the amendments introduce a time-bound approval mechanism. Under the revised framework, proposals involving such investments in sectors including capital goods, electronic capital goods, electronic components, polysilicon and ingot-wafer manufacturing are required to be processed and decided within 60 days. At the same time, the framework provides that majority ownership and control of the Indian investee entity must remain with resident Indian citizens or Indian-owned entities for the 60 days’ timeline to be applicable to it.

Policy implications of the amendments

These amendments signal a calibrated shift in the Press Note 3 regime by seeking to balance national security considerations with the need to facilitate foreign investment, particularly in strategic manufacturing sectors that form part of India’s broader industrial and technology supply chains. While the core objective of screening investments from land-bordering countries continues to remain intact, the amendments indicate an effort by the Government to address the practical challenges that had emerged in the implementation of the framework. The changes are also broadly aligned with the Government’s continuing focus on improving the ease of doing business in India, particularly by providing greater regulatory clarity and reducing uncertainty for cross-border investors.

The clarification that the beneficial ownership test will be applied at the level of the investor entity, along with the introduction of a 10% threshold for non-controlling beneficial ownership, is likely to provide significant relief to global investment structures. Venture capital and private equity funds often have diversified general partner and limited partner bases across multiple jurisdictions, including passive investors from land-bordering countries. Under the earlier interpretation of Press Note 3, even minimal exposure to such investors could potentially trigger the requirement for prior government approval. The revised framework reduces this uncertainty by carving out non-controlling holdings below the prescribed threshold, thereby enabling global funds to deploy capital into India with greater regulatory clarity.

Further, the introduction of a time-bound approval mechanism for investments in certain manufacturing sectors reflects the Government’s broader policy objective of strengthening India’s domestic manufacturing ecosystem, particularly in segments such as electronics and semiconductor supply chains. By committing to process such proposals within 60 days, the Government appears to be signalling its willingness to facilitate investments that contribute to India’s strategic industrial capabilities, while continuing to retain safeguards around ownership and control.

The real test, however, will lie in how these changes are implemented in practice.

(Moin Ladha is Partner and Tanish Prabhakar is Senior Associate at Khaitan & Co. Views expressed are personal.)