Chennai: The foreign direct investments into India saw a 13 per cent increase in 2024, according to the UN's trade and development body. Along with the US, India was the top recipient of FDI in manufacturing projects.
“India recorded a 13 per cent increase in FDI, boosted by growth in greenfield project announcements. They rose by 13 per cent in India, where greenfield project announcements also increased in number and value,” UNCTAD said in its report.
Though UNCTAD did not specify the total investments received by India, based on its June report on FDI, India had seen a 43 per cent decline in FDI inflows into India in 2023 at $28 billion.
Having grown 13 per cent in 2024, India should have seen FDI inflows of $31.8 billion. In 2023, India witnessed FDI inflows of $28,163 million against $49,380 million in 2022, a decline of 28 per cent. In 2020, the country received FDI inflows of $64,072 million and in 2021, the inflows had declined to $44,763 million.
According to UNCTAD, two countries experienced significant growth in manufacturing projects in 2024, reaching new record levels - the United States and India. In the United States, the value increase was driven by major semiconductor projects and automotive projects. In India, semiconductor projects and basic metals projects contributed to the rise in manufacturing activity.
The investment of $16.5 billion by ArcelorMittal for the production of basic metal and metal products in India was one of the top five global FDIs in 2024. The UNCTAD report said that the investment is expected to create 20,000 jobs. Taiwan-based Powerchip Technology company’s investment of $11 billion in India too secured a place in top 10 FDIs.
Despite India seeing a rise in FDI, Asia saw inflows decline by 7 per cent in 2024 to $588 billion. China faced a 29 per cent drop in inflows and it was 40 per cent below its 2022 peak.
Global FDI flows reached an estimated $1.4 trillion in 2024, an increase of 11 per cent. However, excluding financial flows through European conduit economies they were down about 8 per cent. FDI to developing countries declined 2 per cent, marking a second consecutive annual fall for the Global South and challenges progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which rely heavily on international project finance.
However, FDI increased marginally in ASEAN and more significantly in Africa, South Asia (India), and Central America and the Caribbean, UNCTAD said.
