Archive · 7 Aug 2026
India's Revamped Model BIT To Be Sent To Cabinet Soon
A Bilateral Investment Treaty is a promise between two countries.
The promise says each country will protect and treat fairly the investors from the other country.
This helps businesses feel safe when they invest in another country.
India is working on a new version of this promise.
The government wants the new version to be friendly to investors.
India also wants its own companies to be protected when they invest in other countries.
That is becoming more important because Indian businesses are going abroad more often.
The new plan is still being discussed and improved.
Soon, it will be shown to the Union Cabinet, which is a group of top government leaders.
They will decide whether to approve it.
India's finance ministry is reviewing the Model Bilateral Investment Treaty to make it more investor-friendly.
The revised Model BIT will soon be placed before the Union Cabinet for approval, Economic Affairs Secretary Anuradha Thakur said.
The review incorporates lessons from past negotiations and global practices, with consultations still underway.
Thakur said investor protection is increasingly important as India's outward direct investment grows and Indian firms expand abroad.
She dismissed concerns that a slight dip in net FDI reflects investigative agency overreach, citing record gross FDI and transparent, procedure-driven actions.
- Who
- Anuradha Thakur, Economic Affairs Secretary of India's Union Finance Ministry
- What
- Announced that the finance ministry is reviewing the Model Bilateral Investment Treaty to make it investor-friendly and will soon seek Cabinet approval
- When
- On a Friday at a recent event (exact date not specified in the article)
- Where
- New Delhi, India
- Why
- To address investor disputes, align with global practices, and protect Indian companies as their outward direct investment grows
Concern Over Enforcement Overreach
Economic Affairs Secretary's Position
Reason for decline in net FDI
Concern Over Enforcement Overreach
Some raised concerns that overreach by investigative agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is causing capital flight and a decline in net FDI.
Economic Affairs Secretary's Position
Thakur dismissed these fears, saying most agency actions are procedure-driven and transparent, and noted that gross FDI reached a record while net FDI declined only slightly.
- Speaker
- Anuradha Thakur, Economic Affairs Secretary
- Topic
- Review of the Model Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT)
- Ministry
- Union Finance Ministry
- Status
- Under review; consultations underway
- Next Step
- Model BIT to be placed before the Union Cabinet for approval
- Review Basis
- Negotiation experience and global practices
- FDI Context
- Gross FDI hit a record; net FDI declined slightly last year
- Location of Remarks
- New Delhi, at an industry event