Snapshot from Aug 17, 2026 at 07:00 UTC. For live data and tracking: View Live
Events / Political / NITI Aayog Investment Friendliness Index 2026
Domestic index release

NITI Aayog Investment Friendliness Index 2026

Analysis based on 88 articles · First reported Jul 17, 2026 · Last updated Jul 31, 2026

Sentiment
30
Attention
4
Articles
88
Market Impact
General
Live prominence charts, article sentiment distribution, and event development timeline available on the Ergen Dashboard
Market Impact

The index is expected to influence investment decisions by providing an evidence-based comparison of state-level investment environments, potentially directing capital toward top-ranked states like India — Gujarat, India — Maharashtra, and India — Tamil Nadu. It may also encourage states to implement reforms to improve their rankings, thereby enhancing India's overall investment attractiveness and supporting economic growth.

Government Investment Infrastructure
Event Summary

India — NITI Aayog released its first Investment Friendliness Index (IFI) on July 17, 2026, ranking 28 states and 8 union territories across 84 indicators and eight pillars: infrastructure, business climate, resources, government policy, regulatory ease, institutional environment, financial health, and environmental resilience. The index classifies states into Top Performers (score above 50), Frontrunners (45-50), Emerging Performers (40-45), and Aspiring States (below 40). India — Gujarat topped the large states category with a score of 56.6, followed by India — Maharashtra and India — Tamil Nadu. India — Goa led city states, and India — Uttarakhand topped hilly and northeastern states. Five states - India — Gujarat, India — Maharashtra, India — Tamil Nadu, India — Goa, and India — Odisha - were declared Top Performers. The index aims to foster competitive federalism and guide state-level reforms to improve investment climates. India — NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Ashok Lahiri noted India's investment rate is around 25%, lower than China's at a comparable stage, and emphasized the role of states in driving reforms. The report was prepared by S&P Global — CRISIL Ratings under India — NITI Aayog's Research Scheme. State leaders, including Chief Ministers Bhupendrabhai Patel, Mohan Charan Majhi, Himanta Biswa Sarma, Vishnu Deo Sai, and Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, welcomed their states' rankings and highlighted ongoing reform efforts.

Key Actions
100 India — NITI Aayog ranked states
100 S&P Global — CRISIL Ratings ranked India — Chhattisgarh
100 India — NITI Aayog ranked India — Chhattisgarh
100 India — Odisha ranked fifth
99 India — Chhattisgarh received proposals
90 India — Chhattisgarh became first state
90 India — Gujarat ranked Best Performing State
90 India — Gujarat unveil policy
80 Ashok Lahiri released report
80 India — Assam ranked 14th nationally
80 India — Chhattisgarh decriminalized
80 India — Odisha ranked fifth
80 India — NITI Aayog ranked first India — Gujarat
78 India — NITI Aayog launched index
70 India — Chhattisgarh proposed
+ 23 more actions View on Dashboard
Entities Involved
cnt
India
The index is part of India's strategy to boost investment and achieve Viksit Bharat @2047, with the report noting an investment rate of around 25% of GDP.
Importance 100.0 Sentiment 40.0
loc
India — Gujarat
Topped the index among large states with a score of 56.6, reinforcing its status as India's leading investment destination and attracting significant FDI.
Importance 100.0 Sentiment 70.0
govactor
India — NITI Aayog
Released the first Investment Friendliness Index, a strategic tool to promote state-level reforms and competitive federalism, positioning itself as a key driver of India's investment policy.
Importance 100.0 Sentiment 30.0
loc
India — Maharashtra
Ranked second among large states with a score of 53.7, recognized for its strong business climate and private equity ecosystem.
Importance 90.0 Sentiment 60.0
loc
India — Tamil Nadu
Ranked third among large states with a score of 53.3, noted for its infrastructure and business climate.
Importance 90.0 Sentiment 60.0
loc
India — Odisha
Ranked fifth overall and fourth among large states with a score of 52.4, recognized as a Top Performer, validating its reform-oriented approach.
Importance 85.0 Sentiment 55.0
loc
India — Goa
Topped the city states category with a score of 53.1, recognized for its resources and regulatory ease.
Importance 80.0 Sentiment 55.0
per
Bhupendrabhai Patel
As Chief Minister of India — Gujarat, highlighted the state's top ranking and announced the India — Gujarat Industrial Policy 2026.
Importance 80.0 Sentiment 60.0
loc
India — Assam
Ranked second among hilly and northeastern states with a score of 47.3, recognized as a Frontrunner and best in the Northeast.
Importance 75.0 Sentiment 50.0
loc
India — Uttarakhand
Led the hilly and northeastern states category with a score of 47.5.
Importance 70.0 Sentiment 45.0
per
Mohan Charan Majhi
As Chief Minister of India — Odisha, celebrated the state's Top Performer status and committed to further reforms.
Importance 70.0 Sentiment 50.0
per
Ashok Lahiri
As India — NITI Aayog Vice Chairman, released the index and highlighted India's investment rate compared to China.
Importance 70.0 Sentiment 30.0
loc
India — Chhattisgarh
Topped the regulatory ease and institutional environment pillars, highlighting its business-friendly reforms.
Importance 65.0 Sentiment 40.0
per
Himanta Biswa Sarma
As Chief Minister of India — Assam, welcomed the state's Frontrunner ranking and attributed it to stable policies.
Importance 65.0 Sentiment 45.0
subs
S&P Global — CRISIL Ratings
Prepared the index under India — NITI Aayog's Research Scheme, responsible for data and methodology.
Importance 60.0 Sentiment 30.0
+ 37 more entities View on Dashboard
Relationships
India related ↔ India — NITI Aayog
India related ↔ Bhupendrabhai Patel
ERGEN INTELLIGENCE
Track this event live

Set up alerts, explore entity relationships, search across thousands of events, and build custom intelligence feeds.

Open Dashboard

About Ergen

Ergen is a news intelligence platform that converts raw news articles into structured data. It tracks events, entities, and the relationships between them, with sentiment and attention metrics derived from thousands of articles. Pages on this site are daily static snapshots from the platform's live database. For real-time tracking, search, and alerts, the full dashboard is at app.ergen.ai.