India’s net foreign direct investment (FDI) dropped to $3.3 billion in August from $7.3 billion in July, while the April-August balance remained above year-earlier levels, preliminary Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed.
The RBI’s October Bulletin separately reported gross FDI inflows of $11.1 billion in August, down from $14.58 billion in July. Net and gross figures measure different parts of the investment flow. The August release lists $5.2 billion in net direct investment in India and $1.9 billion in net direct investment abroad; the difference was $3.3 billion.
Across April-August 2026, net FDI totaled $13.8 billion, compared with $9.6 billion in April-August 2025. Financial services, communication services, computer services and manufacturing together made up 73% of FDI equity inflows during the 2026 period, the RBI’s October Bulletin said.
The RBI’s August release also reported a $45.4 billion overall balance-of-payments surplus, compared with a $5.6 billion deficit in August 2025. For April-August, the balance was a $58 billion surplus, versus a $0.8 billion deficit a year earlier. The release put the current-account deficit at $18.3 billion for April-August and $5.2 billion for August, down from $6.1 billion in August 2025. EconoTimes previously covered the August balance-of-payments surplus. The RBI marks the August balance-of-payments figures as preliminary.
