Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is a major driver of economic growth and an important source of non-debt finance for the economic development of India. It has been the endeavor of the Government to put in place an enabling and investor friendly FDI policy. The intent all this while has been to make the FDI policy more investor friendly and remove the policy bottlenecks that have been hindering the investment inflows into the country. The steps taken in this direction during the last six years have borne fruit as is evident from the ever increasing volumes of FDI inflows being received into the country. Continuing on the path of FDI liberalization and simplification, Government has carried out FDI reforms across various sectors.

Measures taken by the Government on the fronts of FDI policy reforms, investment facilitation and ease of doing business have resulted in increased FDI inflows into the country. The following trends in India’s Foreign Direct Investment are an endorsement of its status as a preferred investment destination amongst global investors.

A. for the period of last 6 years (2014-15 to 2019-20)

• Total FDI inflow grew by 55%, i.e. from US$ 231.37 billion in 2008-14 to US$ 358.29 billion in 2014-20.
• FDI equity inflow also increased by 57% from US$ 160.46 billion during 2008-14 to US$ 252.42 billion (2014-20).

B. - Financial Year 2020-21 (April to August, 2020)

• During April to August, 2020, total FDI inflow of US$ 35.73 billion is received. It is the highest ever for first 5 months of a financial year and 13% higher as compared to first five months of 2019-20 (US$ 31.60 billion).
• FDI equity inflow received during F.Y. 2020-21 (April to August, 2020) is US$ 27.10 billion. It is also the highest ever for first 5 months of a financial year and 16% more compared to first five months of 2019-20 (US$ 23.35 billion).

Foreign Direct Investment liberalization increases inflows by simplifying entry conditions and enhancing investor facilitation measures. Government policy measures prioritize Foreign Direct Investment liberalization, investor facilitation, and simplification of sectoral entry conditions to encourage non debt capital inflows. The summary links these reforms and ease of doing business initiatives to reported increases in aggregate and equity FDI volumes over recent comparative periods, treating monetary trends as indicators of the regulatory effect without creating new statutory obligations.