NEWS: NITI Aayog released the first-ever Investment Friendliness Index (IFI) 2026 to assess how attractive Indian States and Union Territories are for domestic and foreign investments.

About IFI 2026

• Released by: NITI Aayog.
• Objective: Measure the investment ecosystem of States/UTs and promote competitive federalism by encouraging policy reforms and ease of doing business.
• Coverage: All 28 States and 8 Union Territories.

Top Performers (2026):

• 1st: Gujarat
• 2nd: Maharashtra
• 3rd: Tamil Nadu

Assessment Framework

• Evaluates States on 8 pillars: Infrastructure, Business Climate, Resources, Government Policy, Regulatory Ease, Institutional Environment, Financial Health, Environmental Resilience

Uses 84 indicators, combining:

• Publicly available (secondary) data.
• Perception-based investor surveys (primary data).
• Scoring is on a 100-point scale.

Performance Categories

• Top Performers: Above 50
• Frontrunners: 45–50
• Emerging Performers: 40–<45
• Aspiring States: Below 40