From the United States
The United States is the third-largest source of foreign direct investment into India, USD 81,821 million from April 2000 to March 2026, and 2,311,484 non-resident Indians live there. No bilateral investment treaty with the United States appears on the register of the Department of Economic Affairs, so an investor’s protection rests on Indian law and on contract, and dividends are taxed under the 1989 tax convention. This page sets out those agreements, the trade negotiations, the questions a United States business or an Indian living there asks first, and the practical facts of working across the time difference.
At a glance
- Investment into India
- USD 81,821 million
- Third-largest source of cumulative foreign direct investment into India, April 2000 to March 2026: USD 81,821 million, 10.39 per cent.
- Equity inflow in the financial year 2025-26: USD 11,171 million.
- Source 1
- Indians living there
- 2,311,484
- 2,311,484 non-resident Indians live there, the third-largest number in any country.
- Overseas Indians in all, non-resident Indians and persons of Indian origin together: 6,079,221.
- Source 2
- Investment treaty
- None listed
- Bilateral investment treaty. The register of the Department of Economic Affairs lists no India-United States treaty. It lists an Investment Incentive Agreement with the United States International Development Finance Corporation, signed 23 May 2022 and in force from 15 June 2022.
- Source 3, 4
India and the United States: the legal framework
No investment treaty is listed and a trade agreement is under negotiation; tax runs under the 1989 convention.
| Area | Agreement | Status | What the source records | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Investment protection | Bilateral investment treaty | None listed | The register of the Department of Economic Affairs lists no India-United States treaty. It lists an Investment Incentive Agreement with the United States International Development Finance Corporation, signed 23 May 2022 and in force from 15 June 2022. | 3, 4 |
| Double taxation | Convention between India and the United States for the Avoidance of Double Taxation Its page in Law | In force | Signed 12 September 1989; general effective date 1 January 1991. A note on this site applies its Article 10 to dividends. | 5, 6 |
| Trade agreement | India-United States Bilateral Trade Agreement | Under negotiation | None in force. A framework for an interim agreement was reached on 6 February 2026, and negotiations continue. | 7 |
| Social security | Social security agreement | None listed | The United States has no entry on the list. | 8 |
| Documents: the Apostille Convention | Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, 1961 | Applies | The status table lists the United States among the contracting States. | 9 |
Where the United States invests in India
The official sources this page relies on give no list of sectors for investment from the United States into India. The sector pages below are those the notes on the United States draw on.
Sector pages on this site
- Technology and services
Named in the notes on the United States below
Legal work for technology, platform and service businesses: data protection under the DPDP Act, intermediary liability, content and IP licensing, platform regulation, and the licensing and governance regimes that apply to media, education, hospitality and the creative economy.
- Financial services
Named in the notes on the United States below
Legal work for lenders, listed companies, funds and financial technology businesses: SARFAESI and DRT enforcement, insolvency, SEBI proceedings, AIF and FEMA compliance, and the RBI licensing regimes that govern payments and digital lending.
Where the two countries are working together
The Ministry of External Affairs brief on India and the United States, February 2026, names among the fields of cooperation critical minerals, semiconductors and energy, including hydrogen and emerging fuels. 11
Questions from the United States
A business from the United States
Does a treaty protect a United States investment in India?
No bilateral investment treaty with the United States appears on the register of the Department of Economic Affairs, so protection rests on Indian law and on contract.
Can a United States company invest in an Indian company without approval?
Under the Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) Rules, 2019, a United States company may subscribe to shares of an Indian company without prior approval where the sector is on the automatic route and the sectoral cap is not crossed, at a price not below the fair value of the shares.
The Indian company reports the issue to the Reserve Bank of India in Form FC-GPR (Foreign Currency-Gross Provisional Return) within thirty days of the date of issue.
How are dividends paid to a United States parent taxed in India?
Under Article 10 of the India-United States tax convention, at up to 15 per cent where the company holds at least 10 per cent of the voting stock, and otherwise at 20 per cent, the domestic rate, because the treaty ceiling of 25 per cent is higher.
When do India’s data protection duties start?
The Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025 were notified on 13 November 2025, but everything a data fiduciary has to build, the notice, the security measures, breach reporting, erasure and the rights machinery, starts on 13 May 2027, as do sections 3 to 17 of the Act.
What does India require of a semiconductor investor or tool supplier?
Semicon 2.0, notified on 31 August 2026, supports a silicon wafer fab at 40 per cent of eligible capital expenditure, and the applicant must already show capital investment of INR 20,000 crore, revenue of INR 7,500 crore in one of the three financial years before it applies, and production grade technology it owns or licenses.
A supplier that exports, re-exports or sends for repair the advanced chip manufacturing tools on India’s export control list needs an authorisation from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade first.
Is a put option against an Indian promoter enforceable?
It is, and has been since 2013, but it must pass three separate tests: securities law, exchange control, which allows no exit price assured at the outset and needs a lock-in of at least one year, and company law.
Indians living in the United States
The Ministry of External Affairs brief on India and the United States, February 2026, records Indian Americans and people of Indian origin as the third-largest Asian ethnic group in the United States. 11
When is an Indian citizen living in the United States resident in India for tax?
Under section 6 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, on 182 days or more in India in a tax year, or on 60 days plus 365 days in the four years before; a citizen visiting from abroad is outside the 60-day test unless income other than from foreign sources exceeds INR 15 lakh, when the test runs at 120 days.
A citizen with such income above INR 15 lakh who is liable to tax in no other country is deemed resident, but only as a person not ordinarily resident.
Selling a flat in India while living in the United States: the tax and the money
For a sale in the tax year that began on 1 April 2026, the buyer withholds tax under section 393(2) of the Income-tax Act, 2025, and a non-resident’s long-term gain on a flat is taxed at 12.5 per cent under section 197.
Remitting a Non-Resident (Ordinary) Rupee account balance is limited to USD 1 million a financial year without the Reserve Bank of India’s prior approval.
Can a family member living abroad inherit property in India?
Under section 6(5) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 and rule 24(c) of the Non-debt Instruments Rules, a non-resident Indian or an overseas citizen of India may inherit any immovable property in India, agricultural land included.
An authorised dealer bank may remit inherited assets and their sale proceeds abroad up to USD 1 million a financial year; whether probate or a succession certificate is also needed turns on the asset.
Signing a power of attorney in the United States for property in India
Two routes lead to a document Indian authorities will take: signature before an Indian consular officer, or signature before a foreign notary followed by an apostille under the Hague Convention of 1961.
The status table of the Hague Conference lists the United States among the contracting States.
What may an Overseas Citizen of India cardholder do in India?
An OCI cardholder is a foreign national with a lifelong multiple-entry visa and parity with a non-resident Indian on buying and selling immovable property other than agricultural land, a farm house or plantation property.
Four heads of activity need special permission, and the registration can be cancelled under section 7D of the Citizenship Act, 1955.
Divorce, maintenance or custody where one spouse lives abroad
These are governed by the personal law statutes and by the Special Marriage Act, 1954 and the Guardians and Wards Act, 1890, and a judgment of a foreign court is conclusive in India only within section 13 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.
Practice areas and counsel for this corridor
Practice areas
- Boardroom and corporate
Standing legal advisory to boards and promoters on governance, contract oversight, regulatory compliance and outsourced in-house legal support.
- Transaction advisory
Structuring, documentation and due diligence for acquisitions, joint ventures and restructuring transactions under Indian law.
- Technology, data and product
Advisory on data protection, technology contracting and product compliance obligations for technology-driven businesses.
- Taxation and fiscal
Advisory and litigation on goods and services tax, direct tax and indirect tax disputes before departmental and appellate forums.
Advocates who write the notes on the United States
Advocates who write the notes for the region, North America
Adv. Adithya Karthik KPartner
- A Canadian pension fund in Indian infrastructure: the income-tax exemption, and the treaty rates where it does not apply
- What an Overseas Citizen of India cardholder may and may not do in India: rights, property, work and cancellation
- A power of attorney signed abroad to sell a flat in Bengaluru: the route, the stamp clock and the limit
Working across the border
The practice advises on Indian law. Where a matter turns on the law of another country it is referred to counsel qualified there, and the advice states which part rests on that referral.
Time difference
India Standard Time is five hours and thirty minutes ahead of UTC throughout the year.
- New York is ten hours and thirty minutes behind Bengaluru, and nine hours and thirty minutes behind while daylight saving time is in force there.
- Chicago is eleven hours and thirty minutes behind Bengaluru, and ten hours and thirty minutes behind while daylight saving time is in force there.
- San Francisco is thirteen hours and thirty minutes behind Bengaluru, and twelve hours and thirty minutes behind while daylight saving time is in force there.
- India does not observe daylight saving time, so the difference changes on the dates the United States changes its clocks.
Instructions are taken between 07:00 and 21:00 India Standard Time (IST), Monday to Friday, as the offices page states. In New York that is 20:30 the day before to 10:30 at standard time, and an hour later on the local clock while summer or daylight saving time is in force.
Documents signed there
India is a party to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, 1961, so a public document from another contracting State that carries an apostille issued by the competent authority there is accepted in India without further legalisation. The status table of the Hague Conference lists the United States among the contracting States.
Offices
- Bengaluru
7th Floor, Raheja Towers, East Wing, 26/27 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Craig Park Layout, Ashok Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560001
+91 76765 68787
- Mumbai
Unit No. 4, 3rd Floor, Inspire BKC, Village Kolekalyan, Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra East, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400051
- New Delhi
L29 to L34, First Floor, Connaught Place, New Delhi, Delhi 110001
Notes for readers there
Notes on the United States
From the region: North America
- A Canadian pension fund in Indian infrastructure: the income-tax exemption, and the treaty rates where it does not apply
- An NRI or OCI cardholder selling a flat in India and sending the money abroad: the rules from 1 April 2026
- An heir living abroad can inherit property in India, but money leaves the country only up to USD 1 million a year without Reserve Bank approval
- What an Overseas Citizen of India cardholder may and may not do in India: rights, property, work and cancellation
- A power of attorney signed abroad to sell a flat in Bengaluru: the route, the stamp clock and the limit
- A Put Option Against a Resident: What Makes It Enforceable, and at What Price
Sources
- Official pageDepartment for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade: Quarterly Fact Sheet on Foreign Direct Investment inflow, April 2000 to March 2026dpiit.gov.in
- Official pageMinistry of External Affairs: Population of Overseas Indians, January 2026mea.gov.in
- Official pageDepartment of Economic Affairs, Register of Bilateral Investment Treaties/Agreements, pages 0 to 9 (dea.gov.in); no United States entrydea.gov.in
- Official pageDepartment of Economic Affairs, Register of Bilateral Investment Treaties/Agreements (dea.gov.in), page 0dea.gov.in
- Official pageInternal Revenue Service, Table 3, List of Tax Treaties (updated through 26 September 2025), India entry, general effective date 1 January 1991; signing date per IRS treaty documents page, Income Tax Treaty 1989irs.gov
- Note on this siteNote on this site: A United States company investing in India: entry under the foreign exchange rules, no investment treaty, and dividend tax under the 1989 convention
- Official pageMinistry of External Affairs, India-US bilateral brief, February 2026, paras 27-28mea.gov.in
- Official pageEmployees' Provident Fund Organisation, International Workers, list of social security agreements (epfo.gov.in); no United States entryepfo.gov.in
- ConventionHague Conference on Private International Law: status table of the Apostille Convention, 1961hcch.net
- Official pageMinistry of External Affairs: Attestation and Apostillemea.gov.in
- Official pageMinistry of External Affairs, India-US bilateral brief, February 2026mea.gov.in
Limits of this page
Nothing on this page is advice, and nothing on it is a statement that any provision applies to a particular set of facts. It is not an offer of engagement. Reading it creates no advocate-client relationship.
Each agreement is stated as its official source records it: a status only where the source states it, and an agreement no verified source records is left out rather than guessed. Each answer on this page restates a note, a law page or a practice page on this site, which carries the detail and its sources.