When did India change their foreign direct investment (FDI) policy and what effects did it have?

India amended their FDI policy in August 2013. It opened a number of key business sectors to increased foreign investment and in several instances eliminated the need for foreign investors to obtain approval from the Indian government before investing. Additional policy changes alter the legal definition of ‘control’ as pertaining to the determination of sectorial caps. Regulations for single and multi-brand retail trading are also important for foreign institutional investors (FII) and firms considering FDI.