After China called India's decision over the weekend to impose additional restrictions on foreign direct investment (FDI) originating from neighbouring countries discriminatory and a violation of WTO guidelines, NITI Ayog CEO, Amitabh Kant, spoke to CNBC-TV18 to clear the air.

The changes to the FDI policy have also worried a lot of Indian startups. Many of India's unicorns including names like Flipkart, Ola, Oyo, Byju's, Big Basket, and Zomato - have benefitted from up to USD 4 billion in Chinese investments. The fear is that this access to capital may now dry up.

Kant, however, said that the government has no intention of stopping Chinese investment in startups.

“In the particular notification, China is not even mentioned. We have looked at all our neighbouring countries and we have said that at this particular point of time, all investments are welcome into India but some investments need to go through a government approval route. That is all. We greatly welcome China’s investments. Nowhere have we said that we are going to constrain China’s investment. They have been a big player in India’s startup story, they have greatly invested into India, we welcome them,” he said.

First Published:Apr 20, 2020 9:38 PM IST