FDI inflows rise to $51 billion in last six months as govt links manufacturing push with startups

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• India drew $51B in FDI in six months, indicating strong global investor interest.
• FDI inflows now focus on manufacturing and research for long-term growth.
• Government boosts funding for deep-tech startups and R&D commercialization

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India attracted $51 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the last six months, reflecting sustained global investor interest as the government sharpens its focus on manufacturing, technology and startup-led innovation, Amardeep Singh Bhatia, Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) said on Wednesday.

"The Centre is increasingly aligning FDI inflows with domestic manufacturing and research ecosystems to ensure capital supports long-term value creation rather than remaining concentrated in consumption-driven sectors," Bhatia said, adding that the approach is aimed at positioning India as a global manufacturing and innovation hub, while encouraging both foreign and domestic investors to back technology-intensive businesses with longer gestation cycles.

According to the government data, India recorded provisional FDI inflows of about $26.61 billion during April–June 2025, up 17% year-on-year.

Deep-tech startups, R&D commercialisation in focus

Bhatia said the government is backing a new class of startups that take forward deep research—often not B2C in nature—and convert it into commercially viable products.

“We have basically an entity or a startup which takes forward deep research and converts it into a commercial product. It can be an intermediate product or a final product,” Bhatia said.

Over the last decade, linkages between R&D laboratories and the startup ecosystem have strengthened through incubators and institutional platforms, he said, adding that the government is now scaling this up with significantly higher funding support.

Funding for research-led innovation has increased substantially, including the ₹1 lakh crore R&D funding initiative aimed at supporting projects that translate scientific research into market-ready products over time.

“That funding goes into R&D which converts into products over a period of time. So that’s direct funding which is available,” Bhatia said.

This is being supplemented by fund-of-funds where the government committed about Rs 10,000 crore and sector-specific schemes that focus on startups with deep research foundations. Programmes such as Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) are supporting startups that are commercialising advanced research, particularly in strategic and high-technology areas.

“You look at iDEX also. iDEX is supporting startups which are converting that deep research into commercial products,” Bhatia said.

Private capital interest, corporate engagement

Bhatia said private investor interest in deep-tech and R&D-led startups is already visible, especially among funds willing to provide longer-duration capital once policy initiatives and support frameworks are in place.

As part of its push to deepen corporate–startup collaboration, the government will mark National Startup Day on January 16, with around 3,000 startups expected to participate. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the programme, which will focus on encouraging greater engagement between corporates and startups, particularly in manufacturing and research-led sectors like deep-tech.

Officials said the growing interest from long-term private investors, combined with rising FDI inflows, is expected to strengthen India’s innovation-led growth trajectory in the coming years.