Despite policy push, FDI inflows falling

New Delhi: Foreign direct investment (FDI) in India showed a declining monthly trend in the first quarter of 2022-23 financial year. In terms of the overall FDI in the first quarter of this fiscal too, there was a decline of 0.8 per cent as compared to April-June 2021 period.

In April this year, the country got $6,459 million as FDI, which decreased to $6,152 million in May, and again to $3,978 million in June, official sources told Bizz Buzz. In the first quarter, the total FDI was $16,589 million, against $17,567 million.

Computer software and hardware received the maximum FDI in the April-June period, $3,427 million, followed by the services sector $2,573 million. Trading attracted $2,033 million, chemicals other than fertilizers $960 million, automobile industry $691 million, construction $680, and drugs & pharmaceuticals $497 million.

Singapore topped the list of countries investing in India in the first quarter. As much as $5,687 million FDI came from the South East Asian nation. The next was Mauritius with $2,369 million and then the UAE ($2,146 million), the US ($1,464 million), the Netherlands ($1,078 million), Japan ($851 million), and Cypress ($605 million).

The Narendra Modi government has been trying hard to attract FDI. For instance, addressing industry leaders of the US and India in the first week of September, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal claimed that India was the best investment destination and the time was just ripe for putting money in India.

"There are many competitive advantages that the US-India relation has to offer. The resilience of our supply chains and the way talent India has provided to the US and investments the US has provided to India, all of these cumulatively make a very good business case," he had said, while addressing the US India Strategic Partnership Forum.

A recent survey conducted jointly by EY and CII found that 71 per cent of multinational corporations (MNCs) considered India to be an attractive investment destination for their global expansion. Also, 96 per cent of the respondents were positive about the Indian economy in the long run.

"India's reforms focus and economic growth gives rise to FDI opportunity of $475 billion in the next five years," the EY-CII report said.