India’s position improves in FDI inflow list of UNCTAD

The Dollar Business Bureau

India’s position has improved in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow list of UNCTAD. The country has ranked 10th on the list with 26 percent rise in FDI inflow as per the World Investment Report (WIR) 2016.

“The position of India has improved in “FDI inflow list of UNCTAD”. The World Investment Report (WIR) 2016 has shown 26 percent rise in FDI inflow. Presently, India stays on 10th position whereas according to WIR-2015 the ranking for the year 2013 was 15th position,” Commerce & Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha on Monday. 

In addition, the country is in the 3rd position in the list of best prospective host economies for the period 2016-18. 

FDI trends in India show its status as a favoured destination for investment among foreign investors. The country received the highest ever FDI inflow of $ 55.46 billion, during the fiscal of 2015-16, Sitharaman said in a statement.

The targets for FDI inflows have not been fixed by the Government as investment is mainly an issue of private businesses. However, India has a very liberal and investor friendly policy for FDI, she informed.

FDI inflows are dependent on several factors including market size, availability of natural resource, infrastructure, general investment and political climate, and also the macro-economic stability and foreign investors’ decision, she added.

Commerce Minister further said that FDI policy review is a continuous process and considerable changes have been made in the policy regime, from time-to-time, to make sure that the country remains an attractive investment destination. These steps are likely to enhance FDI, which supplements and complements domestic investment.

Domestic firms get benefit of FDI, through increased access to additional capital and advanced technologies; access to managerial practices worldwide and prospects of integration into world markets, thus resulting in augmented growth of the entire country, she added.