TN got ₹22,396 crore FDI in a year; still 5th in country in wooing investors

Foreign direct investments (FDI) into Tamil Nadu have gone up from ₹17,208 crore in 2020-21 to ₹22,396 crore in 2021-22, as per data released by the Union Commerce Ministry.

In the last three years, the southern state has wooed industrialists to bring in ₹46,840 crore worth of foreign investment. In India, Tamil Nadu is placed 5th in attracting FDI.

On top is Maharashtra which with investments worth ₹ 2.88 lakh crore in the last three years, followed by Karnataka which brought in investments worth ₹ 2.51 lakh crore.

Tamil Nadu’s FDI inflow is the highest in financial year 2021-22 when compared to the previous two financial years. In 2021-22, the state was able to bring in investments worth ₹ 22,396 crore against ₹ 7,230 crore in 2019-20 and ₹ 17,208 crore in 2020-21.

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Numbers clearly indicate that while Tamil Nadu has progressed well since April this year in attracting FDI, it is far behind Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Delhi.

Based on FDI inflow data for the period April 2021 to March 2022, Maharashtra cornered 26% of the total investments flowing into the country, followed by Gujarat and Karnataka with 23% each. Delhi was able to corner 13% of the money flow while Tamil Nadu got just 4%.

Tamil Nadu state officials say that the data might not be a correct reflection of the investments flowing into the state. “Many companies headquartered in places like the Delhi-NCR Region and Mumbai are investing in Tamil Nadu, but their investment gets recorded at the local regional office of RBI,” the official contended.

In the financial year ending March 31, 2022, a total of ₹ 4.37 lakh crore has been received as FDI inflows into the country. The year marked a decrease of 1% over the previous year’s FDI inflows, according to the data.

Mauritius and Singapore were the main sources of foreign investments into the country. About 49% of the all FDI inflows were from these two countries with Mauritius topping with 27% and Singapore 22% investment. The US came a distant third with 9% and The Netherlands and Japan contributing nearly 7% and 6% each.

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The Services sector cornered 16% of the investments. Finances, banking, insurance, business outsourcing, R&D, courier, technology testing and analysis were some of the main heads under which FDI arrived. Computer software and hardware cornered 14% of the investments.