Inspiration

Founded as an independent initiative with the encouragement of like-minded colleagues, this platform seeks to open pathways for scholars to explore data, insights, and perspectives beyond the mainstream narrative on FDI.  

My research engagement with the Indian corporate sector, spanning over four and a half decades, has underscored the need for a specialized forum to explore the less examined dimensions of foreign direct investment (FDI). This realization has emerged from my long and evolving association with empirical and policy-oriented studies in this field.

My academic journey began in 1980 as a participant in the ICSSR-sponsored research programme Regulatory Administration of the Private Corporate Sector. Subsequently, I contributed to several major studies, including Corporate Information System (CIS), The Role of Multinational Corporations in India’s Position in the International Division of Labour, and Global Capital Flows and the Indian Stock Market. These three projects were undertaken with the support of the Indo-Dutch Programme on Alternatives in Development (IDPAD).

In addition, I was actively involved in two research projects sponsored by the Union Ministry of Finance—Foreign Investment Approvals: An Analysis (August 1991 – July 1993) and Foreign Investment Approvals and Implementation Status: A Review (August 1991 – December 1994). These studies offered valuable opportunities to examine micro-level developments in India’s FDI landscape.

Throughout these years, my association with the Corporate Studies Group (CSG) proved particularly enriching, fostering close collaboration and sustained intellectual engagement across multiple disciplines. In particular, Professor S. K. Goyal—Project Director at CSG and later the founding Director of the Institute for Studies in Industrial Development (ISID)—was a profound influence and mentor. He often reminded us that our central objective was to “raise the level of public debate” by generating and disseminating solid empirical evidence. Another of his guiding exhortations was to “build your colleagues.”  I modified and adopted it later at the ISID as "grow with your colleagues." In a lighter vein, I have often said that Professor Goyal taught me the “ABCs of MNCs.” His leadership provided us with the freedom to explore the domain of corporate research without undue time pressures, thereby fostering both rigor and independence and enabling us to venture into new dimensions. 

While there is a long list of colleagues I would like to acknowledge, I wish to mention in particular those at the Corporate Studies Group— Prof. M. R. Murthy, Prof. K. V. K. Ranganathan, Prof. Biswajit Dhar, Prof. Nagesh Kumar, and Shri B. M. Gupta. My close association with Prof. Biswajit Dhar was particularly enriching in the later part of my career.

I would fail in my duty if I forget Prof. Gerd Junne, then at the University of Amsterdam, and late Prof. Jan ter Wengel of the Free University, Amsterdam, with whom I came in close contact due to my association with the IDPAD-sponsored studies. 

Having begun my career during the regulatory regime and later navigating the transformative period of the 1991 economic reforms, the effort to remain relevant and analytically grounded through this transition has been one of the most significant tests of my academic life.

Following my retirement, I have had the privilege of continuing my research as a Senior Research Fellow at the Academy of Business Studies, under the leadership of Shri Arun Goyal, with whom I share a personal association of over three and a half decades. His sustained encouragement and institutional support have played a crucial role in maintaining my research engagement and in facilitating this new initiative through the establishment of this website.

We have never been opposed to governments, nor have we been uncritically against multinational corporations. Our endeavour has always been to advocate a nuanced approach to foreign direct investment—particularly by developing countries—an aspect that remains grossly underemphasized in the global narrative. 

In this endeavour, I am also fortunate to have the continued collaboration of Prof. K. V. K. Ranganathan, my long-time colleague since 1980. Our proximity after retirement in Andhra Pradesh has further strengthened our professional association and renewed our collaborative efforts.

K. S. Chalapati Rao

Neither well-monitored FDI in extractive industries nor well structured FDI in manufacturing and assembly offers a panacea for host country development. But when surrounded by an appropriate regulatory and business-friendly setting both offer the possibility of making important contributions ....  This modern day approach differs significantly from the Washington Consensus admonition that FDI was good, and the more the better.                       - Theodore Moran

Give more attention to the thesis that not all incoming FDI is created equal: Any given foreign subsidiary can make invaluable contributions to domestic economic growth ..., and any given subsidiary can be more harmful than beneficial.                Stephen  Cohen,  Multinational Corporations and Foreign Direct Investment: Avoiding Simplicity, Embracing Complexity

The best way of attracting and drawing benefits from FDI is not always passive liberalization (an “open door” policy). Liberalization can help get more FDI, but alone it is not enough. … Getting FDI in technologically advanced or export-oriented activities is even more demanding. … Free markets may not lead foreign investors to transfer enough new technology or to transfer it effectively and at the depth desired by a host country.                                                   UNCTAD, 2003

Benefits from FDI are not automatic. One challenge is that there are different kinds of foreign direct investment, and each may have different economic, social, and environmental impacts. 

Investment policy formulation requires a framework sophisticated enough to differentiate between the various kinds of foreign direct investment, as well as potential challenges and benefits for development.                     --World Bank Policy Research Working Paper, October 2015 

 … countries which manage their FDI are likely to benefit more than those which are managed by their FDI.               Eric Rugraff et. al. (eds.). Transnational Corporations and Development Policy: Critical Perspectives