DPIIT has issued clarification with respect FDI in the News Digital Media sector. Under Press Note 4 of 2019, FDI up to 26% through Government route for entities engaged in Uploading/ Streaming of News & Current Affairs through Digital Media was permitted on the lines of FDI in the print media. It is now clarified that the decision of permitting 26% FDI through Government route will apply to the following categories of Indian entities, registered or located in India:

• digital media entity streaming/uploading news and current affairs on websites, apps, or other platforms;
• news agency which gathers, writes and distributes/transmits news, directly or indirectly, to digital media entities and/or news aggregators; and
• news aggregator, being an entity which, using software or web application, aggregates news content from various sources such as news websites, blogs, podcasts, video blogs, user submitted links etc. in one location.

The abovementioned entities have been given a one year time period from the date of this clarification to align their FDI to the 26% level with the approval of Central Government. It is the responsibility of the investee entity to comply with the FDI policy and applicable FEMA notifications (including FEM (Non-debt Instruments) (Amendment) Rules, 2019). The entity is required to adhere to the following conditions:

• The majority of Directors on the Board of the company are Indian citizens
• The Chief Executive Officer is an Indian citizen
• To obtain security clearance for all foreign personnel likely to be deployed for more than 60 days in a year by way of appointment, contract or consultancy or in any other capacity for functioning of the entity, prior to their deployment. In the event of security clearance of any of the foreign personnel is denied or withdrawn for any reason, the investee company will ensure that the concerned person resigns or his/her services are terminated forthwith after receiving such directives from the Government.

To refer to the DPIIT clarification dated 16 October 2020, click here