India witnessed a massive sixfold jump in foreign direct investment in research and development in 2021. However, its distribution across different industrial sectors and regions was very skewed. Therefore, this article analyses the trends in sectoral composition and spatial distribution of FDI in R&D across Indian cities.
The study used partial least squares-structural equation model and found that foreign direct investment and research and development expenditures have a positive relationship with high technology exports (indicator for technological advancement), whereas technical cooperation grants have a negative relationship with HTE in India.
Foreign direct investment reveals the tendency to fl ow to the industrial agglomerates. Some scholars express the concern that the skewed distribution of FDI can worsen the regional disparity. This article reveals that FDI has limited and unexpectedly negative effects on the Indian gross domestic product. Hence, the fear that skewed FDI infl ow can worsen regional disparity stands rejected.
The revelations of Pandora and other papers indicating extensive use by Indian entities of the international financial system and offshore corporate structures fit in well with the empirical findings of this article that large scale illicit financial flows have taken place through trade misinvoicing in India’s trade with 19 countries over 2000–18. This article highlights that India is a net recipient of illicit flows, whose actual scale would be higher if commodity level trade data is used in estimating trade misinvoicing.
Does the introduction of FDIs in critical sectors allow consumers to accrue more benefits through increased competition or does it cement the presence of big players and displace local industries?
The discussion paper on “Industrial Policy 2017” floated by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion has stressed promoting the transfer of foreign technology as one of the key priorities with respect to the existing foreign direct investment policy regime. However, the focus remains on ensuring enhanced access to technology. This may not lead to technology transfer owing to several restrictive conditions imposed on the usage of technology by the licensor. For gaining real acquisition of technology, a purposive policy intervention is required through regulatory supervision of costs and conditions negotiated in technology collaboration agreements.
While the e-commerce market has been liberalised progressively over the years, foreign direct investment in business to consumer e-commerce is permitted only under certain circumstances. This has resulted in innovative and convoluted e-marketplace models to overcome the restrictions. In this context, recent changes in the FDI policy in e-commerce are analysed with special focus on the marketplace segment and the possible impact of such changes on the existing players.
The Law Commission of India's 260th report contains a seemingly innocuous suggestion to include a clear clause for consent to arbitrate investment disputes in India's 2015 draft Model Bilateral Investment Treaty. There is an intriguing absence of any explanation for this suggestion, which is curious, especially when viewed in the context of the global public debate on investor-state dispute settlement clauses. This suggestion requires robust public debate in India and must not silently sail past.
Joint Ventures, International Investment and Technology Transfer edited by Nirvikar Singh and Sugata Marjit; Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2003; pp 404 + xxii, Rs 650.
