FDI in Multi-Brand Retail Trading and India's Bilateral Investment Treaties

This note assesses India's policy of permitting foreign direct investment (FDI) up to 51 per cent in the multi brand retail-trading (MBRT) sector in light of India's bilateral investment treaties (BITs). This is assessed by examining whether India's BITs provide pre-entry national treatment protection to foreign investment or not. Based on this assessment, the note finds that this policy is consistent with India's BIT obligations. However, the note argues that given the current political opposition to this policy and other features of India's BIT like protection of foreign investment from both direct and indirect expropriation, reversal of this policy in future by a later government, after foreign investment has been made, might trigger BIT claims against India