Indian Depository Receipt

An Indian Depository Receipt (IDR) is the Indian equivalent of an ADR — a financial instrument that allows shares of a foreign company to be listed and traded on Indian stock exchanges in Indian Rupees, without the foreign company needing a direct Indian listing. IDRs are issued by a domestic depository against the underlying shares of the foreign issuer held abroad. Standard Chartered PLC was the first and so far only company to issue IDRs in India, listing on NSE and BSE in 2010. IDRs allow Indian retail investors to invest in foreign companies within a regulated, exchange-traded framework, though the IDR market in India remains underdeveloped compared to the ADR market in the US.