What India’s headline FDI won’t tell you and where we need to go

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) equity inflows into India increased by 18% to reach $58.84 billion in the fiscal year 2025-26, with investments from the United States more than doubling compared to the previous fiscal year.However, is that the whole story? ChrysCapital founder Ashish Dhawan adds a layer to this data, dissecting the complexity of the matter. Ashish Dhawan says that’s the only way India can create 40-50 million jobs and take exports from $450 billion to $2 trillion.Speaking to Shereen Bhan on Young Turks Reloaded, the ChrysCapital founder argues that India is finally at a manufacturing inflexion point.The Number Is Not RightAccording to data published by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, FDI from the US surged to $11.17 billion in 2025-26, up from $5.45 billion in 2024-25, but Dhawan says that is not the full picture.He said India needs a trillion-dollar investment in manufacturing in the next decade. That’s the only way we’ll create the next 40-50 million jobs.He emphasised domestic savings and said forget about FII money and increase FDI.”I know you guys all report FDI of 90 billion and then net FDI is zero. Nobody focuses on the right number. FDI, half of it is private equity, which is not FDI. It’s long-term FDI.”, Dhawan added.He further elucidated and said that that money has to go back. Manufacturing FDI is only 20 billion dollars. 20-22 billion dollars. View this post on Instagram Quoting the number, he said, “t’s abysmal. That’s the number to focus on. Because that number is what creates jobs, brings new technology, and puts factories. You know, it’s here permanently. And that’s an abysmally low number. So we need greater FDI.”According to him, India has to mobilise domestic savings, adding that this can be aided by incentives from the government.Invest In Manufacturing Talking about the manufacturing sector, he said, “:if people were looking to start up, people were looking to invest, is this the time to invest in manufacturing in India? I think so. I also think, you know, the enabling conditions are much better. See, 10-15 years ago, our logistics was terrible. Our port turnaround times were terrible. You know, we didn’t have the industrial parks the way we do. Government didn’t have an industrial policy to start with.”According to him, now India has some industrial policy and the enabling conditions are much better.Dhawan thinks that India has to be much more aggressive.Trade During Global Paradigm Shift As for the international landscape, he said that, in his view is the world will get divided up into two spheres. The Sinosphere and then the Western sphere.And we will therefore get more opportunities to export as well into the Western sphere. Which is why India’s FTAs with the US, EU and UK make a lot of sense. Because those are the markets we need to access.The West, as per Dhawan going to get extremely afraid of China, as there is $400 billion deficit with China and the EU. The EU has to diversify asthey are way too dependent on China. So that’s the opportunity that India is presented with.With stronger infrastructure, improving industrial policy and global supply chains looking beyond China, Dhawan believes the enabling conditions are much better for entrepreneurs to build in India.Also Read: CM Devendra Fadnavis orders probe into Siddhivinayak Temple donations after Raj Thackeray’s allegations(Edited by : Juviraj Anchil)First Published: Aug 8, 2026 12:40 PM IST

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