India’s foreign direct investment (FDI) landscape for the fiscal year 2024-25 shows a significant trend: the United States and Singapore collectively contributed over one-third of the total FDI. This insight comes from the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) latest annual census on the foreign liabilities and assets of Indian direct investment entities.
On Wednesday, October 29, 2025, the central bank unveiled the preliminary findings of its 2024-25 Foreign Liabilities and Assets (FLA) census. This comprehensive survey meticulously tracks the cross-border financial commitments and holdings of Indian businesses.
The RBI’s report highlights robust participation, with 41,517 out of 45,702 surveyed entities disclosing details of their foreign direct investment (FDI) and/or overseas direct investment (ODI) on their balance sheets as of March 2025.
A substantial portion of these, 33,637 companies, were repeat participants from the previous census, while 7,880 entities submitted their data for the first time this year.
Interestingly, more than 75% of the companies receiving inward direct investment were identified as subsidiaries of foreign parent companies, meaning a single foreign investor held over 50% of their total equity.
The census explicitly states, “The United States and Singapore collectively accounted for more than one-third of the FDI flowing into India. Other prominent contributors included Mauritius, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands.”
Conversely, when examining outward direct investment (ODI) from India, Singapore, the United States, and the United Kingdom emerged as the primary recipient nations.
Breaking down the total FDI of ₹68,75,931 crore for 2024-25, the U.S. led with a 20% share. Singapore followed closely at 14.3%, trailed by Mauritius (13.3%), the U.K. (11.2%), and the Netherlands (9%).
The manufacturing sector proved to be the biggest magnet for FDI, capturing the largest share of total FDI equity capital at both market value (48.4%) and face value (37.8%). The services sector secured the second-highest share in terms of market value.
This year’s FDI marks a notable increase from the previous year’s figure of ₹61,88,243 crore.
Regarding India’s outward direct investment, totaling ₹11,66,790 crore, Singapore received the largest portion at 22.2%, with the U.S. taking 15.4%, the U.K. 12.8%, and the Netherlands 9.6% during the 2024-25 fiscal year.
The RBI also noted that a vast majority—over 97%—of the direct investment entities participating in the census were unlisted companies as of March 2025. These unlisted firms accounted for the bulk of India’s FDI equity capital.
Furthermore, non-financial companies dominated the FDI equity at face value, holding an impressive 90.5%.
The census also revealed that, in rupee terms and at market value, India’s outward direct investment (ODI) grew faster (17.9%) than inward foreign direct investment (FDI) (11.1%) in 2024-25. Consequently, the ratio of inward to outward direct investment slightly decreased to 5.9 times in March 2025, down from 6.3 times the previous year.