Report proposes 'India-Plus Contribution Scorecard' to boost FDI

New Delhi: The country should adopt an 'India-Plus Contribution Scorecard' to promote foreign direct investment (FDI) by rating investors on measurable economic contributions such as productivity, exports and technology transfer, while maintaining stringent national security safeguards, a report has suggested.

With the Indian economy crossing USD 4 trillion, the country must develop the institutional capacity to pursue rooted, contribution-generating investment, the report prepared by VeK Research and Pahle India Foundation said.

It has proposed an 'India-Plus Contribution Scorecard', a transparent framework that evaluates every investor, foreign or domestic, against measurable outcomes such as productivity, exports, jobs, supplier integration and technology transfer.


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Companies securing above 70 on the scoreboard can be given a 90-day single-window clearance covering land acquisition, environmental approvals, building permissions, and utility connections, it said, adding that every approval and delay should be logged and audited to calibrate the national rollout.

It said that all foreign investment, under the proposed framework, continues to remain subject to national security screening.

"It is imperative to move away from country-of-origin filters since some of India's deepest, most productive foreign partners in autos, in solar, in electronics, in mobile telephony come from jurisdictions with which we have complicated political relationships," the report said.

The scorecard, it said, is best applicable to sectors where economic contribution can be measured within a reasonable operating horizon, including manufacturing, semiconductors, electronics, digital infrastructure, services and consumer industries.

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It has also recommended setting up a National Value Index Dashboard, stating that enterprises in the top quartile of their sector can be granted automatic eligibility for enhanced policy support.

Pahle India Foundation Chairman Rajiv Kumar said that India should focus on gross foreign direct investment because it creates productive capacity, generates employment and strengthens the economy.

"The future of investment policy lies at the intersection of diplomacy, technology, economics and national security. Investment decisions can no longer be viewed through an economic lens alone," said Nivruti Rai, CEO, Invest India.