Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into India rose by 13 per cent in 2020.

This was stated by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in its report.

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FDI in India received an impetus due to investments in the digital sector.

“India, another major emerging economy, also recorded positive growth (13%), boosted by investments in the digital sector,” stated the UNCTAD report.

FDI into India rose by 13 per cent to $57 billion last year, according to the UNCTAD report.

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Other than India, China also emerged as a major benefiter with FDI into the Country rising by another 4 per cent in 2020.

According to the UNCTAD report, China overtook that of the United States in 2020 in terms of FDI for a year.

China has now become the world’s largest recipient of investments from foreign companies.

“China was the world’s largest FDI recipient, with flows to the Asian giant rising by 4% to $163 billion. High-tech industries saw an increase of 11% in 2020, and cross-border M&As rose by 54%, mostly in ICT and pharmaceutical industries,” the UNCTAD report stated.

Growth in FDIs of the two Asian giants comes at a time when the developed countries witnessed a decline in FDI by 69% to an estimated $229 billion.

“China and India were two major outliers in a gloomy year for foreign direct investment,” the UNCTAD said.

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The report published by the UNCTAD said that global FDI collapsed in 2020 by 42 per cent to an estimated USD 859 billion from USD 1.5 trillion in 2019.

“Such a low level was last seen in the 1990s and is more than 30 per cent below the investment trough that followed the 2008-2009 global financial crisis,” the UNCTAD report stated.

“The United States recorded a 49% drop in FDI, falling to an estimated $134 billion. The decline took place in wholesale trade, financial services and manufacturing. Cross-border M&A sales of US assets to foreign investors fell by 41%, mostly in the primary sector,” the report said.

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