The Reserve Bank of India RBI stipulates that only those people who belong to at least one of the following categories may purchase in Indian real estate –
a) a resident of India. He could be an Indian or a foreign national. A foreign national resident of India would need to comply with the provisions of Section 2(v) of FEMA 1999
b) a Non-Resident Indian (NRI)- that is a citizen of India residing outside India
c) a person of Indian origin. ‘Person of Indian Origin’ means an individual (not being a citizen of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, China, Iran, Nepal or Bhutan) who at any time, held an Indian Passport or who or either of whose father or mother or whose grandfather or grandmother was a citizen of India by virtue of the Constitution of India or the Citizenship Act, 1955.
Source: https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/FAQDisplay.aspx