Tamil Nadu sees rise in FDI; Maharashtra, Karnataka lead the table

Tamil Nadu has attracted additional Rs 196 crore in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the first quarter of 2022-23 compared to the same period in the last financial year.

As per data released by the Union Commerce ministry, Tamil Nadu received FDI worth Rs 5,836 crore between April and June 2022 as against Rs 5,640 crore between April and June 2021.

This constitutes 4% of the total FDI in the country while Maharashtra led with 28 per cent followed by Karnataka (24 per cent) and Gujarat (19 per cent). Tamil Nadu was in fifth place after Delhi (fourth place).

Maharashtra drew in FDI worth Rs 40,386 crore in the first quarter followed by Karnataka with Rs 21,480 crore. Gujarat and Delhi were able to woo FDI worth Rs 24,692 crore and Rs17,988 crore respectively.

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The total FDI in Tamil Nadu between April and September was Rs 8,364 crore while it was only Rs 7,062 crore in the same period last year. Though there was a considerable increase in the FDI in Tamil Nadu, the share of the state remains at 4 per cent compared to the same period the previous year.

‘Data may not reflect actual figures’

However, officials said the data might not reflect the actual investments in the state. “Many companies, head-quartered in places like Delhi-NCR and Mumbai that are investing in Tamil Nadu, get recorded at the local regional office of RBI,” an official said.

“The COVID-induced lockdown last financial year, along with Assembly elections, affected the investment flow. From December, all parties were in election mode and many companies decided to wait and watch till the polls got over,” said the official.

In the financial year ending March 31, 2021, a total of Rs 81,722 crore was received as FDI in India. The year marked an increase of 10 per cent over the previous year’s FDI inflows as per the data.

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Mauritius and Singapore were the main sources of foreign investments in the country. Nearly 50 per cent of all FDI inflows were from these two countries with Mauritius topping 28.01 per cent and Singapore at 21.73 per cent. The US came a distant third with 8.23% and the Netherlands and Japan contributed nearly 7 per cent each.

Services sector, including finance, banking, insurance, business outsourcing, R&D, courier, technology testing and analysis, snagged 16% of the investments. Computer software and hardware cornered 13 per cent of the investments.