Gujarat "leads" in FDI investment, India replaces China as top destination due to privatization, labour reforms

By A Representative
Gujarat has “topped” the list of 10 most sought-after destination states for foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2015 in a comparison drawn between India and China by a new report by the Financial Times Group's thinktank FDI Intelligence. The report says, Gujarat "attracted $12.4bn and claimed 10% of all capital investment into both countries."
"In 2011, Gujarat was ranked the 14th most popular state for FDI within the two countries", the report says, adding, "Maharashtra in western India has been one of the strongest performers across the years and it has continued to close the gap on the top Chinese destination, Shanghai Municipality, with the locations attracting $8.3bn and $10.6bn, respectively, in 2015."
However, the report, titled "The FDI Report 2016: Global greenfield investment trends" does not say how much of the "committed" investment has actually fructified. In fact, a separate FDI Insight analysis does not mention Ahmedabad, Gujarat's business capital, or any other city of the state, among top ten FDI job creating cities in the Asia-Pacific region.
It says, with 15,000 jobs, Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City was "the regional leader in job creation over July 1 to December 31, 2015", adding, "Not far behind was the southern Indian city of Bangalore, which came second as a destination for FDI jobs, with 14,223 created over the same period."

"Singapore came third as a FDI destination for jobs, with 11,042. Noida, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, came in fourth with 9,922 and Shanghai took fifth place with 8674", says the report.
The "sensational" revelation on Gujarat comes admidst "The FDI Report 2016" claiming that “India replaced China as leading recipient of capital investment in Asia-Pacific with announced FDI of $63bn". It adds, "China suffered a 16% drop in FDI projects." India, on the other hand, experienced an “8% increase in project numbers.”
Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for making India and Gujarat No 1 destination, the report says, the factors which led to this included pushing into the backdrop such factors like "lack of progressive FDI reforms, retrospective taxation, excessive permit requisites, centre-state political stalemates, inflexible labour markets, land acquisition issues and inadequate infrastructure hindered large-scale FDI into India prior to 2013."
Praising Modi his "campaign" for attracting FDI, the report underlines, it "garnered global attention as he has encouraged foreign investors to privatise key sectors such as the railways, defence manufacturing and insurance, as well as the liberalisation of medical devices." It adds, all this has helped in "ease of creating business."
The report says, "FDI flows into India increased from $24bn in 2013 to $59bn in 2015. The floodgates had been opened. India’s dramatic ascension in the global FDI rankings has largely been due to a dynamic Modi-led government focusing on ‘big bang’ FDI and labour law reforms."

It adds, "Relative stability within the government coupled with an effort to reduce the stagnating effects of bureaucracy has given foreign investors, across many industries, confidence in India as a remunerative investment opportunity. India announced itself as a global force in the FDI sector as it broke into the top 10 economies in terms of incoming FDI flows in 2014."
It praises what it calls "Modi’s marquee visit to New York in late 2015 saw a plethora of US-based CEOs of Fortune 500 companies such as Google, Ford, Cisco, IBM, Lockheed, Marriott, Starwood, MasterCard, Merck, Pepsi, DuPont, Dow and EY hosting the prime minister and citing plans to expand in India. This event turned out to be a causative indicator for 2015 as India moved up to number six in the world for FDI flows in 2015."

Comments

Pace bowlers who transcended pace bowling prowess to heights unscaled

By Harsh Thakor* This is my selection and ranking of the most complete and versatile fast bowlers of all time. They are not rated on the basis of statistics or sheer speed, but on all-round pace-bowling skill. I have given preference to technical mastery over raw talent, and versatility over raw pace.

When a lake becomes real estate: The mismanagement of Hyderabad’s waterbodies

By Dr Mansee Bal Bhargava* Misunderstood, misinterpreted and misguided governance and management of urban lakes in India —illustrated here through Hyderabad —demands urgent attention from Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), the political establishment, the judiciary, the builder–developer lobby, and most importantly, the citizens of Hyderabad. Fundamental misconceptions about urban lakes have shaped policies and practices that systematically misuse, abuse and ultimately erase them—often in the name of urban development.

When grief becomes grace: Kerala's quiet revolution in organ donation

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Kerala is an important model for understanding India's diversity precisely because the religious and cultural plurality it has witnessed over centuries brought together traditions and good practices from across the world. Kerala had India's first communist government, was the first state where a duly elected government was dismissed, and remains the first state to achieve near-total literacy. It is also a land where Christianity and Islam took root before they spread to Europe and other parts of the world. Kerala has deep historic rationalist and secular traditions.

Bangladesh goes to polls as press freedom concerns surface

By Nava Thakuria* As Bangladesh heads for its 13th Parliamentary election and a referendum on the July National Charter simultaneously on Thursday (12 February 2026), interim government chief Professor Muhammad Yunus has urged all participating candidates to rise above personal and party interests and prioritize the greater interests of the Muslim-majority nation, regardless of the poll outcomes.

'Serious violation of international law': US pressure on Mexico to stop oil shipments to Cuba

By Vijay Prashad In January 2026, US President Donald Trump declared Cuba to be an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to US security—a designation that allows the United States government to use sweeping economic restrictions traditionally reserved for national security adversaries. The US blockade against Cuba began in the 1960s, right after the Cuban Revolution of 1959 but has tightened over the years. Without any mandate from the United Nations Security Council—which permits sanctions under strict conditions—the United States has operated an illegal, unilateral blockade that tries to force countries from around the world to stop doing basic commerce with Cuba. The new restrictions focus on oil. The United States government has threatened tariffs and sanctions on any country that sells or transports oil to Cuba.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Beyond the conflict: Experts outline roadmap for humane street dog solutions

By A Representative In a direct response to the rising polarization surrounding India’s street dog population, a high-level coalition of parliamentarians, legal experts, and civil society leaders gathered in the capital to propose a unified national framework for humane animal management. The emergency deliberations were sparked by a recent Suo Moto judgment that has significantly deepened the divide between animal welfare advocates and those calling for the removal of community dogs, a tension that has recently escalated into reported violence against both animals and their caretakers in states like Telangana.

Declaration on raw cotton imports contradicts claim: 'Agriculture outside US trade deal'

By A Representative The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) has alleged that recent remarks by Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on raw cotton imports from the United States contradict the government’s claim that agriculture is not part of the proposed India–US trade arrangement.

Walk for peace: Buddhist monks and America’s search for healing

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The #BuddhistMonks in the United States have completed their #WalkForPeace after covering nearly 3,700 kilometers in an arduous journey. They reached Washington, DC yesterday. The journey began at the Huong Đạo Vipassana Bhavana Center in Fort Worth, Texas, on October 26, 2025, and concluded in Washington, DC after a 108-day walk. The monks, mainly from Vietnam and Thailand, undertook this journey for peace and mindfulness. Their number ranged between 19 and 24. Led by Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara (also known as Sư Tuệ Nhân), a Vietnamese-born monk based in the United States, this “Walk for Peace” reflected deeply on the crisis within American society and the search for inner strength among its people.

Search This Blog