Invest in India

Modern India, built on strong structural and economic principles, offers exciting new opportunities and fresh business objectives across a plethora of industries. Effective, robust reforms undertaken by Shri Narendra Modi’s Government have opened up sectors such as energy, technology, financial services, food processing, infrastructure, and transportation to private and foreign participation. This will drive economic growth and further shore up India’s ranking in the global arena. Strong measures taken by the Government have already secured India’s position as one of the fastest-growing major economies in the world.

The stimulus package for achieving the goal of self-reliant India (Atmanirbhar Bharat) announced by the Government to prepare the country for the post-Coronavirus world, included structural reforms in eight industries – Coal, Minerals, Defence Manufacturing, Civil Aviation, Power Sector, Space, Atomic energy, and Social Infrastructure – that will open up avenues for enhanced trade/investment activities.

The Government’s reformative measures are backed by the overwhelming support of India’s population – the second largest in the world. The confidence of the citizens has been boosted by the global recognition of the successes of the dynamic, growth-centric policies of the Government. For instance, India is ranked among the top 10 destinations for global FDI as per UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2019. Further, India has risen by 79 spots over the past six years to reach the 63rd position on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings 2020. Encouraged by the progress, governments, and private enterprises from around the world are seeking opportunities in India that will drive growth for all stakeholders. As per UNCTAD Global Investment Trends Monitor (UNCTAD GITM), January 2021, India registered a 13% rise in foreign direct investment (FDI) to US$57 billion in 2020 compared to the previous year – the highest among 153 economies included in the study.

• Government of India has put in place a liberal and transparent policy for FDI, wherein most of the sectors are open to FDI under the automatic route. To further liberalise and simplify FDI policy for providing Ease of doing business and attract investments, reforms have been undertaken recently across sectors such as Coal Mining, Contract Manufacturing, Digital Media, Single Brand Retail Trading, Civil Aviation, Defence, Insurance and Telecom.
• India is likely to be the fastest-growing Asian economy in 2022-23, according to analysts at Morgan Stanley, who expect India’s GDP growth to be the strongest among the world’s  largest economies, and contributing 28% and 22% to Asian and global growth, respectively.
• As per WORLD BANK, ADB and IMF projections, India is projected to remain the fastest growing major economy in the world in the coming years.
• Government is working to capitalise on demographic dividend to have investment-driven, export-led growth with greater engagement with the rest of the world in years to come.
• The cumulative growth rate of Index of Eight Core Industries during April 2021-March 2022 was 10.4% (provisional) over the previous year, with steel, cement and natural gas leading the way.
• India has steadily improved its position on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Rankings 2020, jumping 14 places to take the 63rd position. India has improved its rank in 7 out of the 10 parameters and has been recognized as one of the top 10 performers on the list for the third year in a row. Report. 
• India has achieved a place in the Global Innovation Index’s (GII) top 40 countries, ranking 40th, on the back of improvement in information and communication technologies, services exports, venture capital recipients’ value, and finance for startups, according to a report from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Read More
• India has witnessed the sharpest rise among Asian economies, in the annual World Competitiveness Index compiled by the Institute for Management Development, with a six-position jump from 43rd to 37th rank
• India is the sixth-largest manufacturer in the world, as per UNIDO
• Access to vast energy, metals, minerals and agricultural resources
• An extensive pool of experienced, skilled talent across diverse fields
• India’s vast and young population offers a fast-growing consumption market
• Start-up India Initiative:
• India is the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem. Since the launch of Startup India initiative in 2016, India achieved the landmark of 79,936 recognised start-ups on 6 October 2022. Almost half of these start-ups are located in tier-II and tier-III cities.  India’s Commerce Minister has stated that the country aspires to become the largest Startup ecosystem in the world. In 2014 there were only four startups in the unicorn club (startups with a valuation over US$1 billion), but by 5th May 2022, India boasted of 100 unicorns with a total valuation of US$ 332.7 billion. In 2021 alone, a total of 44 startups entered the Unicorn club, and by 10 June 2022, India has added further 17 unicorns. The Minister has expressed confidence that in the 75th year of India’s independence, India would see atleast 75 new unicorns emerge from the startup ecosystem.
• The recognized startups have contributed significantly to job creation, with more than 746,000 jobs generated since the launch of Start-up India initiative. About 200,000 jobs were created by recognized startups in 2021 alone. More Details. 
• Under the  Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS),  Rs. 9.45 billion has been sanctioned for period of four years starting from 2021-22, to support an estimated 3,600 entrepreneurs through 300 incubators. As on 30th July 2022, a total of Rs. 814.5 million has been approved to 378 startups, and Rs. 3.75 billion approved to 102 incubators. More details
• Under the Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) scheme, launched under Startup India initiative in 2016 by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has committed Rs. 7,385 crore to 88 Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) as of 24th September 2022. These AIFs in turn have invested Rs. 11,206 crore in 720 startups. FFS has been playing a monumental role in mobilizing domestic capital in Indian startup ecosystem. More details
• The government of India has established the Fund of Fund for Startups (FFS) with a corpus of Rs. 100 billion to meet the funding needs of startups. Rs. 64.95 billion has been committed to 80 Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) and Rs. 80.85 billion have been invested by supported AIFs in 540 startups. More details
• The first ever “Startup India Innovation Week”  was launched on 10 January 2022, to bring all national and international stakeholders to celebrate entrepreneurship and promote innovation. Speaking on the occasion, the Commerce and Industry Minister lauded the key role of startups in India’s meteoric rise in Global Innovation Index from 76 in 2014 to 46 in 2021, More details
• The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has been conducting the States’ Start-up Ranking Exercise since 2018 to facilitate the ease of building a start-up and doing business across the country. In the latest rankings for 2021, declared on 4 July 2022, Gujarat and Karnataka emerged as the best performers among states. More details
• On 5 October, 2021, international rating agency Moody’s upgraded the outlook on India’s sovereign rating to ‘Stable’ from ‘Negative’ in a revision after nearly two years, citing reducing financial sector risks, broadening economic recovery, and rising Covid vaccinations.
• At 87%, India has the highest FinTech adoption rate in the world against the global average of 64% (Press reslease by Ministry of Commerce & Industry, 30 September 2021)
• India has retained the third rank in the Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index released by consultancy firm EY, which ranks the world’s top 40 markets (nations) on the attractiveness of their renewable energy investment and deployment opportunities. More information

As per the Global Innovation Index 2021 rankings, released by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), India has been ranked 46^th, up 2 spots since last year. In 2020, India entered the top 50 innovating countries for the first time since inception of the Global Innovation Index in 2007, improving its rank from 81 in 2015 to 48 in 2020. Innovation has been at the forefront of India’s battle against the unprecedented crisis created by the Covid-19 pandemic, and will be pivotal in driving the country’s resilience and self-reliance. The Minister of Commerce and Industry has called upon stakeholders in the innovation ecosystem to strive to take India to the top 25 in the Global Innovation Index. More details. The National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS) has supported setting up of 25 Technology Innovation Hubs (TIH) across the country, boosting new and emerging technologies to power national initiatives in key areas.