New Delhi, May 25 (IANS) The Congress and the BJP were involved in a verbal duel over economic issues on Sunday, with the former alleging a fall in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and the latter slamming the Opposition party’s misleading fixation with ‘net FDI’ and ‘ignorance’.

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh targeted the government for what he called dwindling foreign direct investment by posing on the social media platform X: “The just-released RBI data reveals that Net FDI inflows into India in 2024/25 have plunged by an unprecedented 96 per cent to a measly $0.4 billion.”

In-charge of the BJP’s National Information and Technology Department, Amit Malviya, retorted, saying, “Today, foreign capital is betting on India’s future. The Opposition and their cheerleaders’ fixation with “net FDI” is not only economically misleading — it reflects either ignorance or a deliberate distortion of facts.”

“India’s gross FDI inflows stood at $81 billion in FY25 — a 14 per cent year-on-year increase, despite global economic uncertainty and monetary tightening in the West. India continues to rank among the top 5 global FDI destinations,” said Malviya, an ex-banker himself.

Earlier, Congress General Secretary in-charge Communications questioned the government’s policies and said: “Whatever whitewashing of an official explanation for this precipitous fall is being provided, the fact remains that this reflects tremendous investment uncertainty in India – which is deterring not only foreign investors but Indian companies as well, who would rather invest abroad than at home. We ignore the implications of the dramatic decline at our own peril.”

Malviya went on to give a comparison between FDI attracted under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government and during the UPA era.

“Since 2014, cumulative FDI inflows have exceeded $670 billion. The Modi Government’s reforms — ranging from Ease of Doing Business, PLI schemes, and digital infrastructure to taxation overhauls — have established a credible, rules-based investment climate,” said Malviya.

The BJP leader said, “More importantly, this is quality capital. FDI is now flowing into high-value sectors such as semiconductors, electric mobility, defence manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and green energy—not merely into real estate or speculative financial instruments.”

Hitting out at the failures of the Congress-led government, Malviya said, “Contrast this with the UPA era, marked by policy paralysis, retrospective taxation, and scandals like 2G and Coalgate, which created a hostile environment for both domestic and foreign investors. Back then, capital flight was the norm.”

The BJP leader also used this opportunity to school Congress leaders on how to calculate FDI.

“Globally, FDI performance is measured by gross inflows, as reported by institutions like UNCTAD and the IMF. ‘Net FDI’ subtracts repatriation and Indian outbound investment, which unfairly distorts the picture, especially now that Indian companies are expanding abroad as global players. Outbound FDI is a sign of economic maturity, not a liability,” he said.

–IANS

rch/dan