Recent Shifts in Inward Foreign Direct Investment in India

Inward foreign direct investment (FDI) stock in India more than doubled from 2014 to 2022. During that same period, the Modi government engaged in a series of reforms on FDI regulations that liberalized many sectors, including traditionally restricted sectors such as defense, rail infrastructure, and pharmaceuticals. The FDI Restrictiveness Index, a measure to assess India’s FDI environment across 22 sectors, declined from 0.26 to 0.21 between 2014 and 2020. Sectors like fisheries, transport, and media, which were the focus of PM Modi’s liberalization efforts, experienced the most significant reductions in index values. Between 2014 and 2022, India saw a rapid increase in the number of greenfield FDI projects, primarily concentrated in software and IT services and business services. Geographically, South India witnessed the most significant growth in inward greenfield FDI within India.