Tamil Nadu’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows increased to about $2.44 billion in the 2023-24 financial year from $2.17 billion in 2022-23, logging a 12.44% jump, data from the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade under the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry reveal.
Tamil Nadu is among the key States that has seen an increase in FDI inflows, even as overall inflows to India has declined marginally to $44.42 billion in 2023-24 from $46.03 billion in 2022-23. “We have not only leveraged our strengths, but have also explored new markets, as evident through our highly successful recent trips to Spain and Japan, among others,” T.R.B. Rajaa, Minister for Industries, Investment Promotion, and Commerce told The Hindu.
“Our top-performer status in ease of doing business, significant advancements in land allotment process and developing a massive land bank have been pivotal. The Global Investors’ Meet [in January 2024] and our one-on-one meetings with top Chief Electoral Officers, along with rapport-building in Davos and elsewhere, have further driven our success. This is bolstered by our sector-specific policies, aggressive outreach to potential investors and tailor-made pitches that meet their needs,” he said.
Industries Secretary V. Arun Roy said, “We are happy to see a 12% annual growth in FDI into Tamil Nadu. This is the result of aggressively attracting foreign investments that the State government has taken up in the last few years. The focus on electronics and high-value addition sectors have helped. The ease of doing business has also significantly improved...”
A release issued in May this year, highlighting the three-year achievements of the DMK government, had pointed out that Chief Minister M.K. Stalin led the Global Investors’ Meet, held in Chennai, and other investors’ meet in Coimbatore, Thoothukudi, and in Malaysia, Singapore, Japan. Investment pledges to the tune of ₹9.61 lakh crore had been attracted with employment potential for 30 lakh youth.
After Mr. Stalin became the Chief Minister, foundation stone was laid for 45 factories, and 27 factories had been inaugurated. Through this, 74,757 youth were provided jobs, the release said, adding that Tamil Nadu was leading in electronics exports for the past three years. Electronics exports from the State had grown to $9.56 billion in 2023-24 from $1.66 billion in 2020-21. Gujarat saw its FDI inflows grow 54.9% to $7.3 billion in 2023-24 from $4.71 billion in 2022-23, while Telangana<SU>saw the inflows jump 133% to $3.03 billion from $1.30 billion.
In 2023-24, Maharashtra’s FDI inflows marginally rose to $15.12 billion from $14.81 billion in same period the previous year, registering a 2.09% jump. Karnataka’s FDI inflows declined 37% to about $6.57 billion in 2023-24 from $10.43 billion in 2022-23, Delhi’s dipped by 13.41% in 2023-24 to $6.52 billion, as against $7.53 billion the previous year.
Tamil Nadu’s share in overall FDI inflows stood at 5%. In the past, government officials had claimed that Mumbai and Delhi had several corporate offices, and FDIs for States such as Tamil Nadu got accounted for in Mumbai and Delhi where their corporate offices are located. They had also highlighted reinvestments of profits by multi-national corporations through their local subsidiaries does not get captured in the FDI data.
