In fact, Indian firms began to invest overseas in the 1960s, but India’s restrictive policies for overseas investment limited them to small, minority joint ventures in developing economies. First major overseas Indian venture was a textile mill set up in Ethiopia in 1959 by the Birla Group of companies (Authkorala, 2009) 3.
Overseas investment operations were, however, geographically concentrated in West and East Africa, Middle East, and South and East Asia with which India shared a colonial heritage and historical linkages. Sustained growth in Indian overseas investment could be seen starting during 1970s when the industrial licensing system was more stringent.