Finance Ministry relaxes restrictions on four China-linked companies to bid for government power projects

In a sign of a further thawing in India’s stance on Chinese investments, the government has issued an order allowing four companies with Chinese ownership or links to bid for projects tendered by the Indian government in the power sector.

The order, dated June 24, 2026, was issued by the Procurement Policy Division of the Department of Expenditure under the Ministry of Finance, and has been reviewed by The Hindu.

The Ministry of Power had in January written to the Ministry of Finance seeking an exemption from the provisions of a previous order that had placed restrictions on companies located in countries that share a land border with India from bidding for the government’s critical power projects.

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Following this, the Committee of Secretaries and the Registration Committee under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) deliberated on the matter before passing its order.

Under the relaxation provided, four companies — TBEA Energy India, Nanjing Electric India, New Northeast Electric India, and Taikai Electric (India) — have been granted exemption from the restrictions for a period of two years.

TBEA Energy India is the wholly-owned subsidiary of the Chinese company TBEA Group, Nanjing Electric India is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Chinese power equipment manufacturer Nanjing Electric, New Northeast Electric India has technology transfer ties with Chinese power sector companies, and Taikai Electric (India) is a subsidiary of the China-headquartered Taikai Group.

The Procurement Policy Division’s order, however, made sure to state that “such exemption for firms may not be considered as a precedence [sic]”.

This order also builds on recent partial relaxations the government has provided companies that have investments from China and other countries that share a land border with India.

The Ministry of Finance had in May 2026 notified new rules to allow overseas companies with Chinese shareholding of up to 10% to invest in India under the automatic route, rather than first having to obtain government approval.

This was a relaxation made to the ‘Press Note 3’ that the Indian government had issued in 2020 ostensibly to prevent opportunistic takeovers and acquisitions of distressed Indian companies due to the COVID-19 pandemic.