As the rupee depreciates, India’s foreign investment numbers have come into the limelight. The focus has been net foreign direct investment (FDI), down from nearly $44 billion in 2020-21 to under $1 billion in 2024-25, even as gross inflows touched a record $94.5 billion.
The foreign direct investment India needs is not the FDI that gets counted
OpinionNot all FDI is the same: The country must rejig what statistics capture to focus on the right kind Ashish Dhawan, Piyush Doshi5 min read18 Aug 2026, 02:00 PM ISTFDI aimed at manufacturing in India for exports earns dollars, absorbs workers at scale and structurally defends the currency.SummaryIf India is to defend its currency sustainably, the…
Opinion
Not all FDI is the same: The country must rejig what statistics capture to focus on the right kind
Summary
If India is to defend its currency sustainably, the country must attract and earn more dollars. Since what gets measured gets managed, we should reclassify FDI statistics to offer visibility on the capital inflows we most acutely need.
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