New Delhi - India was the third largest recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI) in greenfield projects in the world in 2022, according to the latest report by a United Nations body.

The FDI flows into India rose 10 per cent from $44.7 billion in 2021 to $49.3 billion in 2022, said the 2023 edition of the World Investment Report released by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Wednesday. This is lower only than the FDI flows into the US and the UK.

Apart from a sharp increase in foreign investment in greenfield—or new—projects in India, the report also noted that India was the second-largest recipient of international project finance in the world in 2022.

International project finance is when international lenders provide debt or equity to infrastructure projects in various countries.

The inflows into India in 2022 were, however, significantly lower than what was seen in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, during which $64 billion of FDI entered the country.

“Most regions, other than East and Central Asia, recorded an increase in announced greenfield projects,” the report said.

“The highest growth was in South Asia; the number in India more than doubled (to 1,008 in 2022).”