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Abstract
Indian Depository Receipts (IDR) are instruments denominated in Indian rupees. Like all other depository receipts, such as Global Depository Receipts (GDR) and American depository receipts (ADR), they are negotiable financial instruments, issued by a local depository on the basis of equity shares of a foreign company that is listed in the issuing company's country. Despite the existence of a legal structure and significant market curiosity on IDRs as a viable fund-raising option, issuers have been reluctant to engage in the actual process of issuing them. The key reason being the onerous nature of the eligibility norms, which made it possible for only large corporations to issue IDRs. Given that such corporations would in any event prefer to tap their own robust markets, the need to approach Indian investors is yet to surface. Therefore, 2009 saw the introduction of various amendments to the IDR legal framework, in an attempt to make it a lucrative opportunity for foreign companies.