Foreign Direct Investment equity inflows dip 22% to $46 billion in 2022-23

Foreign direct investment (FDI) into India declined by 22 per cent to $46 billion in 2022-23, dragged by lower inflows in computer hardware and software, and automobile industry, according to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) data.The FDI inflows stood at $58.77 billion during 2021-22.

The overseas inflows during the January-March 2023 quarter plunged by 40.55 per cent to $9.28 billion.

The FDI equity inflows declined in January, February and March in the last fiscal to $4.05 billion, $2.85 billion and $2.38 billion respectively as against $6.4 billion in January 2022, $4.61 billion in February 2022 and $4.6 billion in March last year.

Total FDI inflows, which include equity inflows, re-invested earnings and other capital, declined by 16 per cent to $70.97 billion in the last fiscal as against $84.83 billion in 2021-22.

During April-March 2022-23, Singapore emerged as the top investor with $17.2 billion FDI. It was followed by Mauritius ($6.13 billion), the US ($6 billion), the UAE ($3.35 billion), the Netherlands ($2.5 billion), Japan ($1.8 billion), UK ($1.73 billion), Cyprus ($1.27 billion), Cayman island ($772 million), and Germany ($547 million), the data showed.

The FDI inflows have contracted in 2022-23 from Mauritius, the US, the Netherlands, the Cayman Islands, and Germany.

Though the computer software and hardware sector attracted the highest inflows of $9.4 billion during the last financial year, these inflows are down as compared to $14.5 billion in 2021-22.

Similarly, FDI in the automobile industry dipped significantly to $1.9 billion in 2022-23 as compared to about $7 billion in 2021-22. 

The other sectors which recorded dip in the inflows in the last fiscal include construction (infrastructure) activities and metallurgical industries.

However, the inflows have recorded growth in sectors including services ($8.7 billion), trading ($4.8 billion), telecommunications ($713 million), pharma ($8.7 billion), 2 billion), and chemicals ($1.85 billion). 

State-wise, though Maharashtra received the highest inflows of $14.8 billion during the last financial year, the inflows are down as compared to $15.44 billion in 2021-22. 

Similarly the overseas inflows in Karnataka plunged to $10.42 billion in 2022-23 as against $22 billion in 2021-22. Other states/UTs where FDI dipped in 2022-23 include Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Telangana, and West Bengal. 

On the other hand, FDI in Gujarat has increased to $4.71 billion in 2022-23 as against $2.7 billion in 2021-22. FDI has also reported positive growth in Rajasthan.