India received $81.72 billion foreign direct investment (FDI) in FY21, the highest ever and 10% more than what was received in the year before, with Singapore, US and Mauritius being the top investors, said an official statement.
The boost in FDI inflow in the year ending March comes in the backdrop of a series of policy steps taken to improve ease of doing business and to attract investments into domestic manufacturing capacity and an ambitious infrastructure project pipeline.
In the year before, India had attracted $74.39 billion in FDI, said the statement from the commerce and industry ministry. Among major investing countries, Singapore accounted 29% of the total FDI inflow into India in FY21, followed by the US which accounted for 23%, and Mauritius which accounted for 9%.
Among industries, computer software and hardware topped the investment chart in FY21 accounting for 44% share of the total FDI inflow. It is followed by construction (infrastructure) activities which accounted for 13% and services that accounted for 8% respectively, the statement said.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) had said in a report in January that in 2020, developing nations accounted for 72% of global FDI, the highest share on record. Investments into India recorded positive growth in double digits boosted by investments in the digital sector, while China was the world’s largest FDI recipient in 2020, with flows rising 4% to $163 billion, UNCTAD said then.
Commerce ministry said Gujarat topped the list of states in attracting FDI cornering 37% of the total inflows in FY21, followed by Maharashtra which cornered 27% and Karnataka 13%. Gujarat cornered most of the investment inflow into computer software and hardware, representing 78% of the total inflows under this classification. India’s IT hub Karnataka and Delhi remained far behind Gujarat in attracting FDI within this sector with 9% and 5% share respectively.
In construction, computer software and hardware, rubber goods, retail trading, drugs and pharmaceuticals and electrical equipment, FDI inflow in FY21 was more than the inflow in the previous fiscal.
Investments from Saudi Arabia rose sharply in FY21 to $2816.08 million from $89.93 million in the year before. Inflows from the US and the UK grew by 227% and 44% respectively in FY21 from the year before, said the statement.
