Congress leader Rahul Gandhi thanked the government on Saturday for amending the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy after his warning on takeover of Indian companies by foreign players during the COVID-19 crisis.
'I thank the Government for taking note of my warning and amending the FDI norms to make it mandatory for Government approval in some specific cases,' he wrote on Twitter.
Gandhi had, on April 12, flagged the issue of alleged takeover of some Indian companies after those became vulnerable in the wake of the economic slowdown.
'The massive economic slowdown has weakened many Indian corporates making them attractive targets for takeovers. The Government must not allow foreign interests to take control of any Indian corporate at this time of national crisis,' he had written on Twitter.
Gandhi's warning came after the People's Bank of China (PBoC) invested in HDFC and took up a stake in the finance company.
Earlier in the day, Gandhi described the COVID-19 pandemic as a 'huge challenge' as well as an 'opportunity', and emphasised the need to mobilise the country's scientists, engineers and data experts to work on innovative solutions to deal with the crisis.
'The Covid19 pandemic is a huge challenge but it is also an opportunity,' he said in a tweet.
'We need to mobilise our huge pool of scientists, engineers & data experts to work on innovative solutions needed during the crisis,' the former Congress president said.
On Thursday, Gandhi had called for a united fight against the pandemic and said a lockdown is not the solution to defeat coronavirus.
He had asserted that aggressive testing is the 'biggest weapon' to fight the virus.
Gandhi had also said the country is bigger than any disease as it knows how to deal with much bigger challenges.
