The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), has introduced guidelines for foreign companies to raise capital here by issuing Indian depository receipts (IDRs). The Indian capital market regulator has laid down detailed norms for foreign companies to tap the Indian market and list on domestic bourses. It has set a minimum size of the IDR float at Rs 50 crore and the minimum investment limit atRs 2 lakh per investor. What is an IDR, howdifferent is it from a GDR/ADR, and how willit work in the Indian context.fetakes aCloser Lookat all these issues:What are Depository Receipts (DRs)?A DR is a type of negotiable (transferable) financial security traded on a local stock exchange but represents a security, usually in the form of equity, issued by a foreign, publicly-listed company. The DR, which is a physical certificate, allows investors to hold shares in equity of other countries. One of the most common types of DRs is the American depository receipt (ADR), which has been offering companies,investors and traders global investment opportunities since the 1920s.Since then, DRs have spread to other partsof the globe in the form of global depository receipts (GDRs). The other most common type of DRs are European DRs and International DRs. ADRs are typically traded on a US national stock exchange, such as the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) or the American Stock Exchange, while GDRs are commonly listed on European stock exchanges such as the London Stock Exchange. Both ADRsand GDRs are usually denominated in US dollars, but can also be denominated in Euros.What are Indian Depository Receipts (IDRs)?IDRs are transferable securities to be listed on Indian stock exchanges in the form of depository receipts created by a Domestic Depository in India against the underlying equity shares of the issuing company which is incorporated outside India.How are IDRs different from GDRs and ADRs?GDRs and ADRs are amongst the most common DRs. When the depository bank creating the depository receipt is in the US, the instruments are known as ADRs. Similarly, other depository receipts, based on the location of the depository bank creating them, have come into existence, such as the GDR, the European Depository Receipts, International Depository Receipts, etc. ADRs are traded on stock exchanges in the US, such as Nasdaq and NYSE, while GDRs are traded on the European exchanges, such as the London Stock Exchange.