Investments in India...how does it work?

[Fenni]

Hello Sunnyshores,
The problems with property purchase in Goa are getting worse.
I am not in India at the moment. I am in London but do have business in Goa and Kerala.

There is a programme due to go out on British TV - via Trevor McDonald to highlight the problems faced by foreigners in India. Many foreign residents of Goa are putting together a number of items for investigation.

There was a similar programme on Radio 4 last week. At least these issues are being reported by the media now.
If you missed the programme on BBC Radio 4 'You & Yours' last week, you can listen to it by going to BBC Radio 4 website - You & Yours - then search for 'Paradise Lost' May 2008.
(This site will not allow me to give you the link.)

There was an article tucked at the back of a Goa newspaper - just after the Radio 4 programme.
It was one of the ministers pointing out that there are many Goan people living and working in UK.
He suddenly seemed to have realised that UK might chuck out these Goans if Goa does not change its policy towards British tourists wanting a holiday home in Goa.
I don’t think UK would chuck them out but there certainly ought to be a discussion about British tolerance and India’s lack of it.

Keith Vaz MP appeared to be squirming a little on the You & Yours programme after it was implied he was racist. Keith Vaz MP was born in Aden. His father was born in Goa and brought the young Keith here to UK.
Keith did well in UK and got elected to parliament. Foreigners can do that in UK but not in India.
Therefore, Keith Vaz MP is able to come and go between UK and India whenever he chooses, helping people of Indian origin with their immigration problems etc.
Another sudden change in Indian policy is with regard to visas.
For some time now visas have been stamped with the words ‘Stay during each visit not to exceed 180 days.’
This is true even for those with a rare two year visa.
Foreigners generally take a short visit to Sri Lanka or to Singapore etc. to get round this problem. The latest law (May 2008) states that foreigners must return to their country of origin to comply with the 180 day rule. This means foreigners will be taking return trips from India to UK and back every six months and air fares between India and UK are kept deliberately high by the Indian government. This expense is obviously another obstacle to help put foreigners off retuning to India. The distance to America is not much less but is half the price.
The new ruling by India in this visa matter implies collaboration with other nearby countries to make sure that Europeans return to Europe.
When this kind of thing happens there is no warning and right now there are foreigners stranded in Sri Lanka / Singapore etc. with no visa, no flight back to Europe and no access back into India.

You have to love India to put up with all this.
Oh to be a bird!

[sweetsilvanab]

I'd love to post a reply with a link leading to the regulations for non-Indian nationals for investments in India. You can google it. But I am too new to post links!

Things are looking great in the SEZs in India (Special Economic Zones). There most anyone can invest and seize the opportunity to partake in one of the worlds most dynamic economies.

[sweetsilvanab]

Just to relativate my previous post: Of course the corruption in India is high. But the opportunities exceed the risks.

[sha-sl]

Investing in India is an good idea and you have doing right move at right time. As you know it's an developing country , here you get value for the money you are spending. You can do any sort of investiments, you can invest in stocks, real estate, in shopping malls, in restaurents etc.