Foreign Direct Investment routes define when automatic entry or FIPB approval and single window clearance apply.
Foreign Direct Investment is channelled via the Automatic Route, which requires no prior approval and mandates post facto Reserve Bank of India filings where full foreign ownership or investments within sector caps are permitted, or via FIPB Approval where proposed shareholding exceeds caps or the activity falls in restricted or industrially licensed sectors; the FIPB provides single window screening and clearance and is used where policy clarity is lacking.

Repatriation rights: capital, appreciation and dividends can be remitted from India subject to tax and regulatory conditions.
Foreign investment is governed by the Foreign Exchange Management Act, treating foreign-participated Indian companies as domestic for exchange control; repatriation of capital and appreciation is permitted when investments are on a repatriation basis subject to taxes, while dividends and profits are repatriable after tax compliance without separate RBI permission if conditions are met. Non-residents permitted to operate in India may acquire business necessary immovable property but must file a prescribed declaration within ninety days; foreign nationals with specific RBI approval require prior RBI permission to transfer such property. NRIs may purchase immovable property excluding agricultural/plantation/farmhouse and transfer it within prescribed residency and identity limits.