State tops in FDI in Mahayuti tenure, says Fadnavis, Congress contests claim

Maharashtra retains top position in FDI for second year, attracting ₹1,25,101 crore in 2023-24. Congress contests claim, citing historical FDI dominance.

MUMBAI: Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday tweeted that under the Mahayuti government, the state had retained its top position in foreign domestic investment (FDI) for the second consecutive year. Maharashtra attracted investment of ₹1,25,101 crore in 2023-24, marginally higher than the figure of ₹1,18,422 in 2022-23. The Congress, however, has contested Fadnavis’ claim, saying that Maharashtra has been in the top position in FDI since 2000.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. (ANI Photo/ Ishant) (Ishant)

According to data released by the Department For Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) on May 30, Maharashtra has attracted 30% of the total FDI coming to all states in the country. Although Maharashtra is followed by Karnataka, which received FDI of ₹54,427 in FY-24, the gap between the two states is huge. Despite investment of ₹60,600 crore in FY24, Gujarat has slid to the third position because of the low cumulative equity inflow (CEI) in the last five years. As per the CEI, Maharashtra has received 30% of the country’s FDI, while Karnataka and Gujarat received 22% and 17% respectively.

Fadnavis slammed the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by Uddhav Thackeray for its poor show vis-s-vis FDI between November 2019 and June 2022. “Maharashtra lagged behind in attracting investment during the MVA tenure and has once again bounced back to the top position for the last two consecutive years under our government,” he tweeted. “It takes courage to walk the talk, act and prove yourself. Mere jabbering takes no courage.”

“The investment in this financial year is more than double the total investment received in Gujarat, and more than the combined sum of second-ranked Gujarat and third-ranked Karnataka,” the deputy CM added.

Congress leader and Maharashtra general secretary Sachin Sawant, however, contested Fadnavis’ claim. “According to the figures released by the union industries department, Maharashtra has constantly been Number One between 2000 and 2012, attracting 33 per cent of the FDI that came to the country,” he said in a post on X. “Again, according to central government figures, Maharashtra was in the top position from 2019 to June 2022 during the MVA government’s tenure if the cumulative investment of two and a half years is considered. The state lagged behind in FY 21 and FY 22 because the anti-Maharashtra central government diverted the 78% and 53% FDI in software and hardware that came from Singapore, USA and Mauritius to Gujarat and Karnataka respectively. This resulted in Gujarat jumping to the top position in FY20-21. It was a deliberate move by the Modi government to divert the investment to BJP-ruled states.”