Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman. File
| Photo Credit: Jothi Ramalingam B.

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal. File.
| Photo Credit: PTI

FDI inflows into the country are surging, with investors from the Middle East, Japan, European Union, and the U.S. recognising India’s status as a top investment destination, driving rapid economic growth and generating millions of new jobs, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said.

He said that global investors are showing keen interest in India as the country offers several advantages such as strong domestic market, skilled and talented workforce and rule of law.

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“I can clearly see FDI [foreign direct investment] in India once again growing rapidly and creating millions of jobs. Countries in the Middle East, EFTA region, Japan, and investors from the EU and the US are all realising that India continues to be the most preferred destination for FDI,” Mr. Goyal told PTI.

He added that India’s stable and predictable regulatory framework, coupled with a favourable business environment and progressive policies aimed at enhancing ease of doing business, is attracting an increasing number of investors from around the world.

“Last month I met a CEO of one of the largest funds in the U.S., who is also the largest investor in India, and he shared with me that his investments in India over the last 10 years have been some of the best investments his funds have ever done,” he noted.

The U.S. fund, Mr. Goyal said, informed him that they are investors in India for the last 20 years, but more than 80 per cent of their investments happened in the last few years.

“The CEO told me that he will be coming to India to celebrate 20 years of investing in India by announcing a further tranche of investments in India,” he said.

The healthy performance of the Indian stock market will also attract more and more FIIs (foreign institutional investors), the Minister said.

India is averaging over $4.5 billion in monthly foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows since January this year despite global uncertainties and challenges.

In the January-September period this year, FDI into the country rose by about 42% to $42.13 billion. The inflow was at $29.73 billion in the year-ago period.

The inflows during April-Sept 2024-25 grew by 45% to $29.79 billion against $20.48 billion in the same period previous fiscal. Total FDI in 2023-24 was a healthy $71.28 billion.

The key sectors attracting the maximum of these inflows include the services segment, computer software and hardware, telecommunications, trading, construction development, automobile, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals.

FDI is allowed through the automatic route in most of the sectors while in areas such as telecom, media, pharmaceuticals and insurance, government approval is required for foreign investors.

These inflows are important as India would require huge investments in the coming years for its infrastructure sector to boost growth. Healthy foreign inflows also help in maintaining the balance of payments and the value of the rupee.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Russian President Vladimir Putin has hailed ‘Make in India’ initiative and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Government’s policies, saying companies are eager to set up manufacturing facilities in India as investments are profitable.

Speaking at the 15th Vneshtorgbank (VTB) Investment Forum in Moscow on Wednesday (December 4, 2024), Mr. Putin said that the initiative, which is aimed at boosting manufacturing and attracting foreign investment, has played a key role in strengthening India’s position in the global economy.

The ‘Make in India’ initiative was launched on September 25, 2014, to facilitate investment, foster innovation, build World-class infrastructure, and make India a hub for manufacturing, design, and innovation.

Mr. Putin said that India has created stable conditions for small and medium-sized enterprises while expressing Russia’s willingness to establish manufacturing operations in India, as investments in India are profitable.

“The Prime Minister of India, and the Government of India have been creating stable-conditions and this is because the Indian leadership has been pursuing India comes first policy and we believe that investments in India are profitable,” the Russian President said.

“And we would be ready to place our manufacturing site in India. Also, the biggest investment in India in the economy to the tune of $20 billion by Rosneft happened not long ago,” he added.

Rosneft is the biggest oil producer company in the Russian Federation.

He mentioned that Russia’s import substitution programme is similar to India’s ‘Make in India’ initiative and noted that India’s leadership focused on a policy of prioritising its interests.

The president also urged for greater cooperation among Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) nations to support the growth of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and encouraged member countries to identify key areas for collaboration at the upcoming summit in Brazil next year.

The nine-member BRICS bloc includes India, China, Russia, and Brazil.

Further, he noted the rise of new Russian brands replacing Western brands that have exited the market, noting the success of local Russian manufacturers in sectors such as, consumer goods, IT, high-tech, and agriculture.

“For us, it has special relevance as part of the import substitution programme, we see the advent of many new Russian brands substituting the brand by Western partners who have voluntarily left our market. And our local manufacturers have been quite successful not only in consumer goods but also in IT, high tech and agriculture,” he said.

He also offered to place Russian manufacturing sites in India.

India and Russia in July this year agreed to boost bilateral trade to over $100 billion by 2030 by reinvigorating investments, using national currencies for trade and increasing cooperation in sectors ranging from energy to agriculture and infrastructure.

The bilateral trade has increased to $65.42 billion in 2023-24 as against $49.4 billion in 2022-23. Trade gap is highly in the favour of Russia due to jump in crude oil imports.

From a market share of less than 1% in India’s import basket before the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia’s share of India’s oil imports rose to over 40%.

India, the World’s third-largest crude importer after China and the United States, has been buying Russian oil that was available at a discount after some countries in the West shunned it as a means of punishing Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine.