India To Attract $100 Bn Foreign Investments In This this Fiscal Year: Citigroup

Citigroup Inc. banker predicts foreign investors will likely invest as much as USD 100 billion in India this fiscal year, drawn to high-tech manufacturing, infrastructure, and climate-change projects in the world’s most populous country. 

India’s government aims to attract USD 110 billion a year in foreign direct investment over the next seven years. 

Companies working to help India meet its net-zero goals will be among the beneficiaries of the foreign capital flows, said K Balasubramanian, head of corporate banking for Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, said the report.

Bala said capital is flowing into sustainable energy creation strategies like solar, hydrogen, and ammonia. On the energy consumption side, electric vehicles are the “real big story,” he said.

India has made significant investments in clean energy, adding more than 100 gigawatts of capacity in the last 10 years. The country has pledged to install 500 GW of non-fossil fuel energy by the end of the decade and aims to secure USD 1 trillion in investments in solar power to meet its 2070 net-zero pledge.

India has a Rs 18,100 crore (USD 2.2 billion) incentive program to manufacture electric vehicle batteries. Reliance Industries Ltd., JSW Neo Energy and Ola Electric Mobility are among the companies selected to produce battery capacity and avail incentives under the program.

“Capital will come to wherever there are pockets of opportunity in terms of production cost advantage,” Bala said. “Then skill and value addition will be the key drivers for such investments.”