BigBasket's 2017 approval for 100% FDI in India-made food retail resurfaces

Resurfacing a August 2017 move, BigBasket had received government approval to take foreign investment in retailing food products made in India. The e-grocer had to create a separate entity for the business because its existing platform also sells household goods, and had committed about Rs 100 crore in investment.

— FiledSat, 12 Sept, 2026, 06:02 IST·First seen Sat, 12 Sept, 2026, 06:02 IST·Source Financial Express · BrandWagon

What happened

BigBasket received Indian government approval for FDI in retailing food products made in India. It must create a separate entity for the business, as its

Key facts

  • 100% FDI
  • Rs 100 crore
  • $695 million

Why this matters

Any partnership, investment or acquisition involving BigBasket’s food business should be structured around the newly separate FDI-eligible entity rather than the existing multi-category platform.

What to watch

  • Registration details, ownership structure and launch timeline for the separate food-retail entity.
  • New foreign funding round, strategic investment, or revised capital-expenditure guidance.
  • Clarification from DIPP/DPIIT or other authorities on eligible products, online sales, private labels and inventory ownership.
  • Evidence of BigBasket separating app, warehousing, procurement, billing or delivery operations for the food business.
  • Similar FDI applications or policy lobbying from Grofers, Amazon, Flipkart/Walmart, Reliance and other grocery players.
  • Enforcement actions or complaints involving product-origin labeling, discounting or mixing food and non-food operations.
  • Incorporate and operationalize a dedicated entity limited to retailing food products made in India.
  • Pursue foreign strategic investors and growth capital using the approval as a fundraising catalyst.
  • Build auditable supplier, origin-certification and inventory-segregation systems to demonstrate compliance.
  • Prioritize India-made private labels, fresh-food sourcing and cold-chain expansion where the FDI structure is most usable.
  • Keep non-food categories, imported products and broader marketplace operations outside the approved entity.