Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into India grew by 13 per cent to a record $50 billion in its last fiscal year, ending March 2020. Beside services, the key sectors which attracted inflows were computer software and hardware ($8 billion), telecommunications ($4 billion), trading ($5 billion), automobile ($3 billion), construction ($2 billion), and chemicals ($1 billion). FDI is one measure of the confidence that foreign companies place in India’s reliable future growth over the long term. FDI numbers exclude passive investments into the Indian stock markets , which are counted as FPI or foreign portfolio investments and are much more volatile as investors buy and sell shares in multiple countries year round.
Countries investing in India included the Netherlands ($7 billion), the United States ($4 billion), Japan ($3 billion), and France ($2 billion). Many investments into India still flow via third countries for tax and other reasons. In the last year this included Singapore, Mauritius and the Cayman Islands, adding up to about $25 billion.
At the the current time, India reserves of foreign exchange have hit all-time high of $490 billion, according to the Reserve Bank of India.
Last updated: December 26th, 2025
