India State Incentives for Foreign Investors

State guides

India's states set their own industrial incentives on top of central schemes, and the differences are large. Each guide below summarises one state's current policy for foreign investors, what is on offer, and what you should verify before choosing it as the location for your plant or office.

• Investing in Telangana: incentives for foreign companies
• Investing in Karnataka: incentives for foreign companies
• Investing in Tamil Nadu: incentives for foreign companies
• Investing in Maharashtra: incentives for foreign companies
• Investing in Gujarat: incentives for foreign companies
• Investing in Andhra Pradesh: incentives for foreign companies

Each guide states only what public descriptions of the policy confirm, and says plainly where a figure could not be verified.

How to compare states

Compare states on the structure of the incentive, whether your project size and district qualify, land and power availability, approval speed and talent. A headline percentage means little until you know the cap, the payment period and the conditions attached to it.

Incentive structures usually combine a capital subsidy, support linked to state GST, power and stamp duty relief, and employment-linked payments. Ask for the cap on each and the number of years it runs. Then compare the single-window process, because a state that approves quickly can be worth more than one with a slightly larger subsidy. Finally, check whether benefits require sanction before land purchase. Sector rules are in India entry by sector, and home-country points in India entry by country.

What to check before relying on any incentive

Incentive amounts, caps and eligibility are fixed by the current policy and its implementing orders, and they change. Many benefits must be sanctioned before you buy land or begin construction, and payment is usually made in instalments after investment, production and jobs are verified.

Before choosing a location, ask the state agency for the current government order in writing, confirm which project size and district category you fall in, and check whether benefits can be combined with central schemes. Ask when the sanction must be obtained, how long payment takes in practice, and what happens if you miss an employment or production target. We help foreign companies with each step, from choosing the state and setting up the Indian entity to structuring the investment and filing for incentives. Contact a partner.

This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. We summarise public descriptions of each policy; the official policy document is the authority.