New Delhi: In a significant move to attract greater foreign participation in India’s equity markets, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday proposed doubling the individual investment limit for Persons Resident Outside India (PROIs) to 10% from the existing 5%, as part of the Union Budget 2026-27 announcements.
“Individual persons resident outside India, PROI, will be permitted to invest in equity instruments. It is also proposed to increase the investment limit for an individual PROI under the scheme from 5% to 10% with an overall investment limit for all individual PROIs to 24% from the current 10%,” she said.
This change broadens the scope for overseas residents, including Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs), and other foreign individuals, to invest directly in Indian listed equities. Under the proposal, individual PROIs will be permitted to invest in equity instruments of listed Indian companies through the Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS). Previously, such direct investments were more restricted, often requiring routing through registered foreign portfolio investors or specific NRI channels. The enhanced limits are expected to widen the ownership base of Indian equities, improve market liquidity, and reduce volatility by encouraging deeper foreign inflows.
Experts have welcomed the measure. “By allowing Persons Resident Outside India to invest directly in equity instruments and by doubling the per-investor limit from 5% to 10%, the government is clearly trying to widen the ownership base of Indian equities while keeping systemic risks contained through an overall cap,” Sonam Srivastava, Founder and Fund Manager at Wright Research PMS, was quoted as saying.
