RBI FDI census: foreign investment in India rises 8.5% to Rs 70.72 lakh crore but falls in dollars; Indian money in UAE grows 2.6 times

Foreign direct investment held in Indian companies, partnership firms and investment funds was worth Rs 70.72 lakh crore at market value at the end of March 2026, up 8.5% from Rs 65.17 lakh crore a year earlier. The numbers are provisional and come from the Reserve Bank of India’s annual FDI census, published on Friday, 6 November.

In dollars the picture reverses. The census converts holdings at the exchange rate on the last day of the financial year, and with a weaker rupee in March 2026 the same stock came to $747.1 billion, against $761.5 billion a year before.

The United States remained the largest source, with 16.5% of the total. Mauritius (14.5%), Singapore (13.7%) and the United Kingdom (10.8%) followed. South Korean holdings rose 81%, from Rs 1.20 lakh crore to Rs 2.17 lakh crore, the sharpest gain among the ten countries the RBI names.

Indian money abroad grows faster

Direct investment by Indian entities outside the country rose 40.8% in rupee terms to Rs 16.71 lakh crore, or $176.6 billion. Foreign holdings in India are now 4.2 times Indian holdings abroad, down from 5.5 times.

The United Arab Emirates explains much of that shift. Indian investment there grew 2.6 times to Rs 2.71 lakh crore, mostly as debt, which jumped from Rs 17,644 crore to Rs 1.53 lakh crore. The UAE now ranks second with 16.2%, behind Singapore at 21.1% and ahead of the US at 13.9%. In the previous census, released on 29 October 2025, the top three were Singapore, the US and the UK.

Foreign-owned firms as exporters

India’s 27,373 foreign subsidiaries exported goods and services worth Rs 23.76 lakh crore in 2025-26, up from Rs 20.79 lakh crore, equal to 36.3% of their sales. Telecom, computer programming and related information-service companies sent 78% of their sales abroad. Manufacturing held 50.1% of FDI equity at market value, against 48.4% in the 2024-25 census.

These are stock figures at market value, so they carry changes in share prices and exchange rates. The RBI says they will differ from the 2025-26 investment flows recorded in India’s balance of payments.