Mumbai, April 8 The relative attractiveness of India as an investment destination is likely to improve this year due to various factors, such as strong macroeconomic fundamentals and attractive valuations, Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Poonam Gupta said on Wednesday.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) also does not foresee any decline in remittance flows into the country due to the West Asia crisis, she said.
In comments made a few hours after a West Asia truce reversed investor sentiment, the RBI official expressed confidence that the country's strong macroeconomic fundamentals would attract increased foreign investment.
"The relative attractiveness of India as an investment destination is expected to increase this year because of factors such as valuations have become more attractive, and the exchange rate makes investment into the country more attractive with a higher nominal GDP growth, which will help with earnings as well," Gupta said during the post-policy conference.
Governor Sanjay Malhotra added that India's macroeconomic fundamentals are strong, and it is only a matter of time before the flows return.
"The macroeconomic fundamentals of the country are very strong. It's only a matter of time, whether it is FPI (foreign portfolio investment) or FDI (foreign direct investment), both should come to India and be a part of this growth story," the governor said.
"Those who are patient and want to make long-term money will certainly come to India; those who are for quick money, they will come and go," he added.
According to NSDL data, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) pulled out Rs 1.66 lakh crore from equities in 2025. The FPIs were positive on India only in April, May, June and October last year.
The wariness has continued in 2026 as well, with outflows of Rs 1.76 lakh crore, including heavy outflows of Rs 1.18 lakh crore in March.
However, the debt segment in March 2026 witnessed an outflow of Rs 11,545 crore in the Debt-FAR segment, data showed.
On the remittances front, Gupta does not expect any dent if the crisis is resolved very soon.
"We expect demand for migrant workers will increase in these regions, which will help the remittances further."
She added that India's remittances come from a diverse set of regions, in which the share of Gulf countries has declined over time.
"The diversity is not just geographical diversity, but also we have a skilled pool across the different countries. We have low-skilled, medium-skilled, and high-skilled migrant workers who send these remittances. In the past 10-15 years, the remittances have moved in an upward direction."
Responding to a question on the external sector, Malhotra exuded confidence that the Balance of Payments should improve going forward due to the measures taken by the government, like increasing self-sufficiency in oil.