India's net foreign direct investment saw a significant turnaround in February, recording a positive $4.6 billion, marking an end to a six-month period of negative inflows, primarily due to increased gross inflows and reduced repatriations.
Key Points
- India's net FDI turned positive in February, reaching $4.6 billion, after six consecutive months of negative figures.
- The rebound was primarily driven by higher gross inward FDI, which rose to $8.98 billion in February.
- Lower repatriations, at $1.7 billion in February, also contributed to the positive net FDI.
- Gross FDI inflows into India increased by 18.1 per cent to $88.3 billion during April–February 2025-26.
- Net FDI inflows for April–February FY26 rose significantly to $6.3 billion from $1.5 billion a year earlier.
Net foreign direct investment (FDI) turned positive in February after remaining negative for six consecutive months, driven by higher gross inflows and lower repatriations, according to the Reserve Bank of India.
FDI Trends and Figures
Net FDI stood at $4.6 billion in February, compared with a negative $703 million in February 2025.
In January 2026, net FDI was negative $1.4 billion.
Repatriation in February 2026 stood at $1.7 billion, lower than $2.5 billion in the year-ago period. In January 2026, repatriation was nearly $5 billion.
Inward and Outward Flows
Gross inward FDI rose to $8.98 billion in February from $5.56 billion a year earlier.
Net outward FDI declined 31.03 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to $2.63 billion in February 2026, from $3.77 billion a year earlier.
Gross FDI inflows into India increased 18.1 per cent to $88.3 billion during April–February 2025-26, compared with $74.7 billion in the same period a year ago.
Net FDI inflows rose to $6.3 billion during April–February FY26, from $1.5 billion a year earlier.
RBI's Assessment
"During April 2025–February 2026, FDI inflows remained higher than last year in both gross and net terms.
"In February, net FDI turned positive after remaining negative for six consecutive months, on account of higher gross inflows and lower repatriations" according to the RBI Bulletin.
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