- India has strengthened its position as one of the world’s fastest-growing investment destinations by climbing to 11th place among global Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) recipients in 2025, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) World Investment Report 2026.
- The report shows that FDI inflows into India increased by nearly 44% to $38.89 billion in 2025, reflecting growing investor confidence in the country’s manufacturing, infrastructure and long-term economic prospects despite global uncertainty.
India Climbs to 11th in Global FDI Rankings
India improved its position by two places from 13th in 2024 to 11th in 2025 among the world’s largest FDI destinations.
According to the UNCTAD report:
- FDI inflows (2025): $38.89 billion
- FDI inflows (2024): $27.09 billion
- Growth: Nearly 44%
- Global Rank: 11th
The improvement marks a strong recovery after India slipped out of the global top 10 in recent years.
UNCTAD Highlights India’s Investment Strength
UNCTAD noted that India continues to strengthen its appeal as a preferred investment destination through an active policy agenda focused on expanding beyond the services sector.
The report highlighted India’s efforts in:
- Advanced manufacturing
- Infrastructure development
- Global value chain integration
- Industrial diversification
- Investment policy reforms
These initiatives have helped attract long-term foreign investment despite a challenging global economic environment.
India Outperforms Many Developing Economies
- India’s strong FDI performance stood out against the broader trend across developing economies.
- According to UNCTAD FDI inflows into developing economies increased by only 2% and developing Asia recorded 3% growth.
- India’s 44% surge significantly outpaced both regional and global averages.
Greenfield Investment Moderates
Although overall FDI increased, the report pointed to a slowdown in announced greenfield investment projects.
Greenfield Investment
- 2025: $74.12 billion
- 2024: $111.14 billion
The moderation reflects:
- Global economic uncertainty
- Supply chain realignment
- Tariff-related concerns
- Slower manufacturing investment decisions
Despite this decline, India continued to attract several landmark projects.
Alphabet Announces World’s Largest Greenfield Investment
- UNCTAD reported that India attracted the largest announced greenfield investment project globally in 2025.
- US technology giant Alphabet Inc. announced a $14.5 billion investment to establish a major data centre in India.
- The investment became the world’s largest announced greenfield project during the year, reinforcing India’s growing importance as a global digital infrastructure hub.
Major Overseas Investment in Andhra Pradesh
- The report also identified Poland as an important source economy after Hynfra announced a $4 billion investment in Andhra Pradesh.
- The project further strengthens India’s attractiveness for advanced manufacturing and industrial development.
India’s Policy Framework Continues to Attract Investors
According to UNCTAD, India’s investment strategy remains focused on:
- Manufacturing expansion
- Infrastructure development
- Supply chain resilience
- Industrial competitiveness
- Ease of doing business
- Technology-led growth
However, the report cautioned that tariff uncertainty and weaker global investment sentiment continue to affect the pace of new project announcements.
Understanding India’s FDI Data
UNCTAD clarified that its methodology differs from India’s official FDI statistics.
UNCTAD Includes
- Equity capital
- Reinvested earnings
- Intra-company debt
- Net adjustments
DPIIT Measures
India’s Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) reports only FDI equity inflows.
RBI Measures
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) further adjusts net FDI by deducting outward investments made by Indian companies.
As a result:
- RBI Net FDI (2025): $3.34 billion
- RBI Net FDI (2024): $2.83 billion
India’s Outward FDI Also Surges
Indian companies significantly expanded overseas investments in 2025.
According to UNCTAD:
- Outward FDI (2025): $35.66 billion
- Outward FDI (2024): $24.26 billion
- Growth: 47%
India also climbed to 18th among the world’s largest outward FDI source economies.
Overseas Greenfield Investments Rise
- Indian companies announced 41% more overseas greenfield investment projects during 2025.
- One of the largest announcements came from the Rana Group, which proposed a $10 billion automotive manufacturing facility in the United Arab Emirates.
- The project ranked among the world’s five largest announced greenfield investments.
Conclusion
India’s rise to the 11th position among global FDI destinations demonstrates renewed investor confidence in the country’s long-term growth story. Although greenfield investment announcements moderated amid global uncertainty, strong policy support, rising manufacturing investments and landmark projects such as Alphabet’s $14.5 billion data centre continue to reinforce India’s position as one of the world’s leading investment destinations.