Home / Topic / Foreign portfolio investment
Topic Foreign portfolio investment
Asked 3 times across 2 UPSC exams over 12 years (2007–2019), peaking in 2019.
Key insights
- Most tested in CSE — 2 of 3 PYQs
- Most asked in 2019
- Recurs across 3 years (2007–2019)
How it travelled across exams
First appearance in each exam — the same idea, reframed.
CSE 2007 → CDS 2014
How the concept evolved
Long-running — most appearances (2 of 3) predate 2016, and it still returns.
Related concepts
Ideas UPSC tests alongside this one — keep exploring.
Sample questions
You've seen the pattern — here are a few of the actual PYQs.
CSE2019
Which of the following is issued by registered foreign portfolio investors to overseas investors who want to be part of the Indian stock market without registering themselves directly?
- A Certificate of Deposit
- B Commercial Paper
- C Promissory Note
- D Participatory Note ✓
✓ Correct answer: (D)
Economy › Money/Banking/Finance
CDS2014
Which of the following is not the recommendation of the Arvind Mayaram Committee on Rationalizing the FDI/FPI definition (June 2014)?
- A Foreign investment of 10 per cent or more in a listed company will be treated as foreign direct investment (FDI)
- B In a particular company, an investor can hold the investments either under the FPI (Foreign Portfolio Investment) route or under the FDI route, but not both
- C Any investment by way of equity shares, compulsorily convertible preference shares/debentures which is less than 10 per cent of the post-issue paid up equity capital of a company shall be treated as FPI
- D On NRI Investors, the Committee recommended treating non-repatriable investment as FDI ✓
✓ Correct answer: (D)
Economy › External Sector & Trade
CSE2007
Participatory Notes (PNs) are associated with which one of the following?
- A Consolidated Fund of India
- B Foreign Institutional Investors ✓
- C United Nations Development Progranune
- D Kyoto Protocol
✓ Correct answer: (B)
Economy › External Sector & Trade
Study how UPSC repeats — not just the papers
₹199 / 1 year · Founding Member
Full access unlocks the three things no PYQ PDF gives you:
① Cross-exam learning — see the same idea recur across CSE, CAPF, CDS and NDA.
② Topic evolution — how each idea is framed, year by year.
③ Question intelligence — every PYQ + answer, linked to related concepts and similar questions.
e.g. Round Table Conference: CDS 2017 → CSE 2017 → … → CAPF 2024
15 days free, no card required — then ₹199 for 1 year.
Start your 15-day free trial →