Notwithstanding the hardships faced by the in the Covid-induced lockdown, the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the state registered a significant increase in the quarter ending June 2021.
An FDI to the tune of 7.6 million US dollars was received in the state in the first quarter of this financial year till June. Though the states share nationally was merely 0.04 per cent, it reflected an increase vis–vis the quarter ending March 2021 when the FDI had declined to an all-time low of 0.2 million US dollars.
The lockdown badly hit the FDI flow into the state from December 2019 to March 2020. From 10 million US dollars in December 2019, the FDI plummeted to as low as 1.9 million US dollars in March 2020. Though it increased to 4.3 million US dollars in the quarter ending June 2020, it fell to a mere 1.5 million US dollars in the subsequent quarter ending September 2020.
The lockdown was lifted in September 2020, and the FDI again rose to 5 million US dollars in the quarter ending December 2020.
The state had registered its highest ever FDI of 10 million US dollars during the quarter ending December 2019 prior to that. Though this was merely 0.09 per cent of the total FDI flow into India, it was significant for the small hilly state of Himachal. Trade analysts opine that the Union Government has taken a slew of measures to enhance its investment potential.