Statsguru: Attracting foreign direct investment will need more effort

Attempts to encourage more companies to manufacture in India for the rest of the world may be bearing some fruit

Attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) would need more effort despite some recent high-profile announcements.

Outward flows have grown faster than inward FDI, according to annual data from the “Census on Foreign Liabilities and Assets of Indian Direct Investment Entities for 2022-23” released last week by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). FDI into India grew 6.9 per cent in 2022-23, while outward direct investments grew by 19.5 per cent. The ratio of inward to outward direct investment was 5.5 times in 2022-23, compared to 6.3 times in the previous year. It was 5.6 times in 2018-19 (chart 1).