India aims to attract $100 bn a year in FDI

India’s ambitious goal to attract $100 billion annually in foreign direct investment, reflects India's concerted efforts to court investors seeking diversification away from China and establish itself as a premier investment destination in the South Asian region. Rajesh Kumar Singh, Secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, expressed confidence in achieving this target over the next five years, citing positive trends and growth potential.The ambitious target compares with an annual average of more than $70 billion in FDI in the five years through March 2023 and would be a reversal in trend after last year’s decline. Singh said that the figure for the current fiscal year will be “closer to” the $100 billion target.
Amidst geopolitical uncertainties and supply chain disruptions, businesses are increasingly adopting a "China plus one" strategy to diversify their operations and mitigate risks. This approach involves spreading manufacturing and production facilities across multiple countries, with India(world’s fastest-growing major economy)emerging as a preferred choice alongside China.Still, foreign investment hasn’t matched the pickup in local manufacturing. 
Further despite all the noise around India’s chance to leverage the China-plus one strategy,recently the report related to India’s Foreign Direct Investment  published by OECD(The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ),that the India’s share of global foreign direct investment (FDI)inflows fell from 3.5 percent in the first nine months of 2022 to 2.19 percent in the same period in 2023, serves as a wake-up call for policymakers to undertake comprehensive policy reforms aimed at improving the ease of doing business and enhancing the investment climate. This includes streamlining regulations, reducing bureaucratic hurdles, and providing incentives to attract foreign capital across key sectors,believe experts..The sharp drop of 54 percent is much steeper than the overall global FDI inflow decline of 26 percent in the first nine months.
Senior official attributed this discrepancy to the combination of factors including higher inflation and interest rates in developed nations, as well as geopolitical conflicts and risk perception about emerging markets. However, with a concerted push from the government to ease FDI rules and create a favorable investment climate, India is likely to capitalize on its untapped market potential and emerge as a leading destination for foreign investors in the manufacturing sector.
India's foreign exchange reserves rose for the seventh straight week to hit a fresh all-time high of USD 648.562 billion in the week ending on April 5, as per the latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India(RBI).

(Ira Singh, Asstt Editor, Gandhinagar)