Overview
- UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2026, released Tuesday, found India’s foreign direct investment inflows rose about 44% in 2025 to roughly $38.9–$39 billion, moving the country from 13th to 11th in global rankings.
- A single mega project — Alphabet’s announced $14.5 billion data‑centre commitment in Visakhapatnam — accounted for a large share of the inflow gain and topped the list of global greenfield announcements for 2025.
- Measured project activity tells a different story: the total value of announced greenfield investments in India fell from about $111 billion in 2024 to roughly $74 billion in 2025, with manufacturing‑sector investment values dropping sharply.
- India’s outward FDI also surged, rising about 47–50% to near $36 billion and moving India up the source‑economy list to 18th, while UNCTAD’s FDI totals use a broader definition than India’s DPIIT or RBI figures because they include reinvested earnings and intra‑company debt.
- UNCTAD credits Indian policy tools such as PLI, Make in India and single‑window reforms for attracting new investment but warns that tariff uncertainty, supply‑chain realignment and weaker global sentiment could limit large, capital‑intensive projects and make the headline gain fragile.