India attracted over $500 billion in FDI equity inflows between 2014 and 2024 which is more than double the $208 billion received in the preceding decade, according to Sanjay Nayar, President of leading industry chamber Assocham.
Notably, $300 billion of this came between 2019 and 2024 alone, underscoring an accelerated growth trajectory, he mentioned in a media article.
“This surge is attributed to transformative reforms like Make in India, Digital India, and the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes, which have not only enhanced the ease of doing business but also positioned India as a hub for clean technology and sustainable growth,” Nayar wrote in The Economic Times.
The manufacturing and the digital infrastructure sectors saw the resurgence in the last decade. While computer software and hardware received $95 billion in FDI since 2014, services (from finance and IT to R&D and consultancy) attracted another $77 billion.
In 2014, 75–80 per cent of India’s smartphones were imported. Now, due to the PLI scheme, global major like Apple, through Foxconn and Wistron, are now assembling iPhones in India. Smartphone exports have surged to $21 billion.
Foreign investors have also aligned with India’s green ambitions. From renewable energy to electric mobility, India is fast becoming a core node in the global clean-tech value chain, said Nayar.
India’s FDI inflows increased to $81.04 billion in FY 2024-25, marking a 14 per cent increase from $71.28 billion in FY 2023–24, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry last month.
There has been a steady rise in the annual flow of FDI into the country over the last 11 years, from $36.05 billion in FY 2013-14, due to the investor-friendly policy, under which most sectors are open for 100 per cent FDI through the automatic route.
The services sector emerged as the top recipient of FDI equity in FY 2024–25, attracting 19 per cent of total inflows, followed by computer software and hardware (16 per cent), and trading (8 per cent). FDI into the services sector rose by 40.77 per cent to $9.35 billion from $6.64 billion in the previous year.
India is also becoming a hub for manufacturing FDI, which grew by 18 per cent in FY 2024–25, reaching $19.04 billion compared to $16.12 billion in FY 2023–24. Maharashtra accounted for the highest share (39 per cent) of total FDI equity inflows in FY 2024–25, followed by Karnataka (13 per cent) and Delhi (12 per cent).
Among source countries, Singapore led with a 30 per cent share, followed by Mauritius (17 per cent) and the United States (11 per cent), according to the ministry data.
