FDI equity inflows contract 22% in FY23

Foreign direct equity investments into India in fiscal 2023 shrank 21.67% from the previous year to $46.03 billion, data released by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) showed Monday.

The FDI equity inflows were $58.77 in 2021-22.

In the January-March quarter, the inflows were $9.28 billion, around 41% lower than the year-earlier period's $15.59 billion. Total FDI inflows - including fresh FDI equity inflows, reinvested earnings and other capital - contracted 29.6% to $15.49 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter as against $22.03 billion in the corresponding period last year.


Sequentially, the inflows in the quarter were down 5.6%.

Singapore emerged as the top investor with $17.2 billion in FDI in the fiscal year, followed by Mauritius at $6.1 billion and the US at $6.04 billion. As per the data, tax havens such as the Cayman Islands and Cyprus were among the top 10 sources of overseas investments for India. However, the FDI inflows from Mauritius, the US, the Netherlands, the Cayman Islands, and Germany contracted from the previous year.

Among sectors, computer software and hardware attracted the highest inflows at $9.39 billion during the last fiscal year, followed by services at $8.7 billion. However, the inflows were lower on year in computer software and hardware, automobiles, construction (infrastructure) activities and metallurgical industries. Services telecom, trading, pharma and chemicals witnessed growth in inflows.

With $14.8 billion, Maharashtra was the top destination for FDI, followed by Karnataka and Gujarat.

India had gained one notch to emerge the seventh highest FDI recipient in calendar 2021 despite inflows shrinking about 30% to $45 billion from $64 billion in 2020, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Global FDI flows recovered to pre-pandemic levels in 2021, reaching nearly $1.6 trillion.