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Indian FDI in US exceeds $40 billion: CII report
The previous edition of the report, released in 2020, said that 155 companies had invested $22 billion and created 125,000 jobs
In a sign of the growing global reach of Indian capital, Indian companies have invested over $40 billion in the United States (US) and created over 425,000 direct jobs, according to the latest edition of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) report on the Indian industry’s footprint in the US titled Indian Roots, American Soil.
The previous edition of the report, released in 2020, said that 155 companies had invested $22 billion and created 125,000 jobs.
According to the latest report, based on data provided by 163 companies which participated in the survey, Indian foreign direct investment (FDI) is present in all 50 American states. Indian investment in the US, then, has increased by $18 billion since 2020, with an additional 300,000 direct jobs being created. Given that only eight new companies have invested since 2020, Indian firms already present in the US have substantially increased the size of their operations in recent years.
The highest Indian investment, in terms of value, is in Texas followed by Georgia, New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts.
In terms of job creation, while Indian companies have generated close to 35,000 American jobs through remote work, among states, the maximum job creation has happened in Texas (20,906 jobs), New York (19,162), New Jersey (17,713) and Washington (14,525) as of 2022.
The report was released on Wednesday evening at India House, the residence of the Indian ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu during an event that celebrated over 220 Indian companies participating in Select USA, the flagship investment summit organised by the US commerce department. India sent the largest delegation of any country to the summit this year.
The US ambassador-designate to India, Eric Garcetti, was also present at the event. Garcetti is expected to present his credentials to President Draupadi Murmu next week. The governors of North Carolina, Guam and Commonwealth of the North Mariana Islands — the last two are US territories in the Pacific — sought greater Indian investment, while senior officials of the US commerce department hailed the India-US commercial partnership.
However, there remains a disjunct between official figures available with the US administration on Indian investment — which is estimated at $14 billion creating 72,000 jobs — and the CII’s on-the-ground survey , which is arguably a more accurate estimation. Since the CII survey doesn’t cover all Indian investments, and is based on participation by companies, Indian FDI could be even higher than $40 billion.
The 2023 report also shows that 29% of Indian investments in the US are in the life sciences, pharmaceutical and health care sector. 21% companies are in the information technology and telecommunications sector, 18% in manufacturing, 10% in financial, legal, logistical and design services, five percent in automotive, four percent in food and agriculture, three percent in tourism and hospitality and two percent in energy.
Indian companies have also invested over a billion dollars in research and development (R&D) and have spent close to $195 million on corporate social responsibility. In the survey, 83% of the companies said they plan to increase their investment in US in the next five years while 85% of the companies said they intend to hire employees.
