Regional Distribution of Foreign Direct Investment in India

Abstract

The tremendous rise in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows following the economic reforms in 1991, has been one of the most prominent features shaping the behavior of the Indian economy in the past three decades. The present study is based on secondary data and the objective is to examine the trends in FDI inflows to India following the global financial crisis, for the period 2009-2010 to 2021-2022. Additionally, the distributional pattern of FDI among the regions and states of India is also analyzed, using the data for 30 states/territories. The results reveal that total FDI inflows have increased in substantial amounts over the period from US$ 37,745 million in 2009-2010 to US$ 84,835 million in 2021-2022. Maharashtra and Karnataka have surpassed all other states in FDI equity inflows over the period from October 2019 to September 2022. These two states have commanded 50 percent of the total FDI, whereas the regions in central, eastern, and northeast India have received less than 3 percent of the total FDI equity inflows. Thus, the regional disparities in the distribution of FDI are quite visible post-analysis. It is suggested that government should focus on making investor-friendly policies to tap the potential of regions neglected by foreign investors.