There are many investment opportunities for NRIs in India such as –

• Direct Equity
• Mutual Funds
• Fixed Deposit
• National Pension Scheme
• Public Provident Fund
• Real Estate.

Of these options, Real Estate is considered most stable and a more rewarding form of investment in India.

No, any person who is not of Indian origin and who resides outside India cannot purchase immovable property in India. The only exception is if they acquire the property by way of inheritance from a person who was a resident in India.

Unless they reside in India for 183 days in a financial year, it is not legal for foreigners to own property in India. Foreigners can’t buy property using a tourist visa and a tourist visa will allow them to stay for only 180 days.

A foreigner also can’t buy a property jointly, one eligible person with one non-eligible person can’t buy property in India.

If you sell your property within 3 years of acquiring it, it’s considered to be a short-term capital gain. If you sell the property anytime after 3 years, it is considered to be a long-term capital gain.

Long term capital gains tax is 20% plus a cess of 3%. The short-term capital gains tax is taxed by including the short-term capital gain along with the total income for the individual and taxed per the applicable slab rate.

The best way to save on capital gains tax is by following what is mentioned under Section 54. Here, it says you can avoid paying tax on long-term capital gains if you reinvest the money you get by buying another property. You will need to buy the new property either one year before or two years after the sale of the old property. The other catch is you can’t transfer the newly purchased property within three years of buying it.

If you want to reinvest the gains you made, then you can follow Section 54. If you do not want to reinvest in property, then you will need to look into section 54EC, this section allows an exemption if the capital gain amount is invested in certain specified bonds. These 54EC bonds are issued by the National Highway Authority of India, Rural Electrification Corporation, and so on.

If you have an Overseas Citizenship of India, then you can buy ONLY residential and commercial property in India. You will not be allowed to buy agricultural land/plantation property or even a farmhouse in India.

An NRI can buy any number of residential or commercial properties in India there is no limit on this. An NRI, however, can’t purchase any agricultural land or plantation land.