India likely to receive $90B foreign direct investment in FY26
What's the story
India's Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran has projected that the country will attract over $90 billion in gross Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) during the fiscal year 2025-26. "FDI in April-February period exceeded $88 billion and there is one more month in the year. Going by this trend, our expectation is FY 26 is likely to close with over $90 billion with northward bias," Nageswaran told BusinessLine.
Growth projection
First full fiscal year with 2% of GDP FDI
Nageswaran's prediction suggests that the FDI for FY26 could be 10% higher than that of FY25. He also noted that this would be the first time a full fiscal year could see an FDI of 2% of India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). "Latest trend proves that India remains attractive destination for foreign investment," he added, highlighting India's growing appeal as an investment destination.
Investment trends
RBI notes strong growth in gross FDI
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has also noted a strong growth in gross FDI and an improvement in net FDI. During the April-February period of FY26, both gross and net FDI inflows were higher than last year. In February, net FDI turned positive after six months of negative figures due to higher gross inflows and lower repatriations.
Sectoral contribution
Net FDI inflows turn positive
India's gross inward FDI flows grew robustly by 18.1% to $88.3 billion during the April-February period of FY26. Despite high FDI repatriation and outward FDI, net FDI grew to $6.3 billion in 2025-26 from $1.5 billion last year. Manufacturing, computer services, financial services, business services and communication services accounted for over two-thirds of total equity inflows during this period (up to February).
Source countries
Top source countries for inward FDI to India
The RBI report also noted that Singapore, the US, Mauritius, Japan and the Netherlands were the top source countries for inward FDI to India. Together they accounted for nearly three-fourths of total inflows. The report further emphasized India's attractiveness as a destination for greenfield FDI projects with S$65 billion ($73 billion during April-January 2024-25) worth project announcements during this period (April-January).
Project announcements
Investor optimism reflected in top greenfield FDI project announcements
The RBI report also highlighted top five greenfield FDI project announcements in IT and banking by Amazon, Microsoft, Google, General Catalyst, and MUFG Bank. These projects reflect investor optimism and a strong FDI pipeline for India. During the recently concluded Budget session of Parliament, Minister of State in Commerce & Industry Jitin Prasada cited various reasons for the strong FDI flow into India.