According to official figures from the government, India attracted total foreign direct investment (FDI) - including equity, reinvested returns and capital - a record at $81.72 billion in fiscal year 2021, an increase of 10% compared to the previous fiscal year. In which, the field of computer hardware and software accounted for 44% of total FDI, 3 times higher than last year, followed by infrastructure (13%) and services (8%).
"The measures taken by the government regarding FDI policy reform, investment facilitation and relaxation of business environment have helped to improve FDI inflows. The record FDI inflows have proven India as a destination. preferred by global investors," said India’s Ministry of Industry and Trade.
However, according to a further analysis, at least 34% of total FDI in fiscal year 2021 into India comes from global investors pouring capital into Reliance Industries Group of the country’s richest billionaire, Mukesh Ambani.
Between April and December 2020, this multi-industry investment group sold shares in seven subsidiaries - such as Jio Platforms and Reliance Retail - with a total value of nearly $28 billion to foreign investors. outside, including big names like Facebook, Google, KKR & Co., and Qualcomm.
Including the deal with two big internet "giants". In April 2020, Reliance Industries decided to sell a 9.9% stake for more than $5.8 billion in Jio Platform to Facebook, one of its competitors in the digital business.
After the deal with the largest social network on the planet, Reliance announced a partnership with Google to build the Android operating system in July 2020. Four months after being given the green light by the Competition Commission of India, Reliance continued to sell a $4.5 billion stake in Jio Platforms, or a 7.7% stake, to Google.
According to the International Monetary Fund and the Reserve Bank of India, if a foreign investor holds more than 10% of the voting shares in a company, the investor will have a significant degree of influence. to management. As a result, Jio Platforms remains under Indian control even though Facebook and Google currently own nearly 18% of the shares.
The tech industry in India is thriving as businesses are driving rapid digitalisation. "The process of digitalization was especially accelerated last year, because the blockade due to the Covid-19 epidemic forced businesses to automate processes in the value chain. This trend will be accelerated in the future. this year and the next 2-3 years," said Mr. Rajat Wahi - Director of Deloitte in India.
Commenting on the trend of FDI in the coming time, Mithun V Thanks - Director at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co - predicts: "India will continue to attract strong FDI in the next few years as the country focuses on adapting and integrating technology integration".
Currently, India ranks second in the world in the number of Covid-19 cases with more than 28 million cases and third in the world in the number of deaths with 329,127 cases. The medical system is overloaded, medicines are exhausted, relatives of the sick are scrambling to find oxygen supplies, causing thousands of deaths every day. People were forced to cremate the bodies of their loved ones on the street or float them in the river.
