India seeks $100 bn in FDI a year: Official

INDIA AIMS TO attract at least $100 billion a year in gross foreign direct investment, a top official said, as it courts investors looking to diversify away from China. "Our target is that we will average at least $100 billion over the next five years. The trend is very positive and upward," said Rajesh Kumar Singh, secretary in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, in an interview in New Delhi.

The ambitious target compares with an annual average of more than $70 billion in FDI in the five years through March 2023 and would be a reversal in trend after last year's decline. Singh said the figure for the current fiscal year will be'closer to' the $100-billion target.

The world's fastest-growing major economy is appealing to businesses that want to hedge against geopolitical tensions by spreading their operations broadly-sometimes more called a 'China plus-one' strategy. Companies like Apple and Samsung have boosted manufacturing in India, taking advantage of incentives offered by the Narendra Modi government.