There are several options for a non-Indian business to set up a business in India

By opening a Representative Office or Branch Office
As an Indian company through a Joint Venture or as a Wholly Owned Subsidiary

Branch/Representative Office

If your aim is to open a setup in India only to service the parent company overseas, you can establish an office in India which will function as an overseas office of the parent company. Compliance issues are lower in this method of establishment and the procedures that you need to follow for obtaining approvals are far simpler.

However, there are limitations on what can be done in India under such a set up, funding the office, generating profits and repatriation of such profits overseas.

As an Indian Company (a wholly owned subsidiary)

If the aim is to be a key market player in India and to service Indian clients, it is advisable to incorporate an Indian company. It can be a wholly owned subsidiary of the parent company with 100% control with the overseas based parent company. All the directors can be foreign nationals and there is no requirement of the presence of any of them in India. However, there are certain requirements of where the annual general meeting can be held and on record keeping and location of documents.

The Indian entity can either be a private limited company or a listed or unlisted public limited company.

Approvals

Approvals are given automatically by the Indian government for overseas companies to establish their operations in India, if the operations are in certain commercial areas. For others, the approval is subject to the limitation of the equity participation of the foreign parent company subject to a maximum limit depending on the industry. We can help you with all approvals and in the least amount of time possible.

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)

An alternate for an actual entry in to India, is to have us manage some of your business processes to reduce your costs and to improve the bottom line. India is a key BPO destination due to the lower salaries and with an abundance of highly skilled workforce. We can establish and incubate a BPO unit for you till such time as you are able to evaluate the pros and cons of having such a set up, thereby limiting the costs and having a sound exit strategy.