Skip to main content

Gujarat No 5 in FDI inflow in India, not No 1 destination: Official data contradict claim

By A Representative 
A recent Financial Times Group thinktank may have claimed that Gujarat turned into No 1 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) destination among all Indian and Chinese states (see Counterview, April 22), Government of India’s (GoI’s) own  FDI data show that, far from being No 1 among the two countries, it is No 5 in India.
While the thinktank, FDI Intelligence, gave the figures of FDI intentions, pointing out Gujarat "attracted $12.4bn and claimed 10 per cent of all capital investment into both countries", pushing Shanghai Municipality (China) to the No 2 position with an investment of $10.57b, the GoI figures show that Gujarat has remained consistently No 5 since 2000 in India.
The quarterly factsheet, released by the GoI’s Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), shows that FDI inflow into Gujarat was $ 9,507 million between April and December 2015, which is five per cent of that of India’s $191,063 million.
As against Gujarat’s 4.97 per cent of FDI inflow, Greater Delhi’s or National Capital Region’s (NCR’s) was found to be 36.18 per cent (or $69,129 million) that of the country, followed by Maharashtra 17.66 per cent (or $33,756 million), Tamil Nadu’s 14.66 per cent (or $28,023 million), and Karnataka’s 11.45 per cent (or $21,883 million).
The quarterly factsheet, significantly, provides actual FDI inflow data as against the global thinktank FDI Intelligence’s data on what is often called “committed” or “intended” investment, which may or may not fructify on the ground level.
What is equally interesting is that, the cumulative FDI inflow between April 2000 and December 2015 also shows that Gujarat has remained No 5 throughout. With a total FDI inflow of $63,304 million (or five per cent of the total) during the 15-year period, Gujarat remained No 5.
In cumulative investment during the 15 years, Maharashtra has been found to be on the top, with an investment of $386,778 million (29 per cent of India’s), followed by NCR’s 318,153 (22 per cent), Tamil Nadu’s $116,790 million (8 per cent), and Karnataka’s 104,004 (7 per cent).
The thinktank report, interestingly, had praised Gujarat’s performance for being No 1 just in five years. It said, "In 2011, Gujarat was ranked the 14th most popular state for FDI within the two countries.”
It had added, despite Gujarat overtaking all other states of the two countries, “Maharashtra in western India remains 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."
Interestingly, the thinktank, in a separate analysis did not find India’s topmost business capital, Ahmedabad, or for that matter any other city, figuring among Asia-Pacific region’s top ten FDI job creating cities.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Are the definitions of foreign direct investment the same for both reports? Unless so, comparison in findings is irrelevant
Jag Jivan said…
Why are you anonymous? Come off and give "real" facts, if you have any

TRENDING

When democracy becomes a performance: The Tibetan exile experience

By Tseten Lhundup*  I was born in Bylakuppe, one of the largest Tibetan settlements in southern India. From childhood, I grew up in simple barracks, along muddy roads, and in fields with limited resources. Over the years, I have watched our democratic system slowly erode. Observing the recent budget session of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, these “democratic procedures” appear grand and orderly on the surface, yet in reality they amount to little more than empty formalities. The parliamentarians seem largely disconnected from the everyday struggles faced by ordinary exiled Tibetans like us.

Study links sanctions to 500,000 deaths annually leading to rise in global backlash

By Bharat Dogra  International opinion is increasingly turning against the expanding burden of sanctions imposed on a growing number of countries. These measures are contributing to humanitarian crises, intensifying domestic discord, and heightening international tensions, thereby increasing the risks of conflicts and wars. 

Dhurandhar: The Revenge — Blurring the line between fiction and political narrative

By Mohd. Ziyaullah Khan*  "Dhurandhar: The Revenge" does not wait to be remembered; it arrives almost on the heels of its predecessor, released on March 19, 2026, just months after the first film’s December 2025 debut. The speed of its arrival feels less like creative urgency and more like calculated timing—cinema responding not to storytelling rhythm but to the emotional climate of its audience. Director Aditya Dhar, along with actor Yami Gautam, appears acutely aware of this moment and how to harness it.

Beyond the island: Top mythologist reorients the geography of the Ramayana

By Jag Jivan   In a compelling new analysis that challenges conventional geographical assumptions about the ancient epic, writer and mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik has traced the roots of the Ramayana to the forests and river systems of Central and Eastern India, rather than the peninsular south or the modern island nation of Sri Lanka.

BJP accounts for 99% of political donations in Gujarat: Corporate giants dominate

By Jag Jivan   An analysis of the official data on donations received by national parties from Gujarat during the Financial Year 2024-25 reveals a staggering concentration of funding, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accounting for nearly the entirety of the contributions. The data, compiled in a document titled "National Parties donations received from Gujarat during FY-2024-25," lists thousands of transactions, painting a detailed picture of the financial backing for political parties from one of India’s most industrially significant states.

Alarming decline in India's repair culture threatens circular economy goals: Study

By Jag Jivan  A comprehensive new study by environmental research and advocacy organisation Toxics Link has painted a worrying picture of India's fading repair culture, warning that the trend towards replacement over repair is accelerating the country's already critical e-waste crisis.

Captains extraordinaire: Ranking cricket’s most influential skippers

By Harsh Thakor*  Ranking the greatest cricket captains is a subjective exercise, often sparking passionate debate among fans. The following list is not merely a tally of wins and losses; it is an assessment of leadership’s deeper impact. My criteria fuse a captain’s playing record with their tactical skill, placing the highest consideration on their ability to reshape a team’s fortunes and inspire those around them. A captain who inherited a dominant empire is judged differently from one who resurrected a nation’s cricket from the doldrums. With that in mind, here is my perspective on the finest leaders the game has ever seen.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

‘No merit’ in Chakraborty’s claims: Personal ethics talk sans details raises questions

By Jag Jivan  A recent opinion piece published in The Quint by Subhash Chandra Garg has raised questions over the circumstances surrounding the resignation of Atanu Chakraborty from HDFC Bank , with Garg stating that the exit “raises doubts about his own ‘ethics’.” Garg, currently Chief Policy Advisor at Subhanjali and former Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs, Government of India, writes that the Reserve Bank of India ( RBI ) appears to find no substance in Chakraborty’s claims, noting, “It is clear the RBI sees no merit in Atanu Chakraborty’s wild and vague assertions.”