Telangana Ranks 10th in NITI Aayog Investment Friendliness Index 2026

Telangana has secured the 10th position in NITI Aayog's Investment Friendliness Index (IFI) 2026, scoring 47.3 points. The index, released by the policy think tank, categorized Telangana as a "frontrunner" among Indian states and Union Territories, highlighting its strong business climate and institutional environment while pointing out areas that need improvement.

The state's placement in the upper-middle band of large states reflects strong investor perception, governance measures, and business facilitation. However, the report flagged infrastructure, specifically logistics and connectivity, along with resource and deep-skilling indicators, as areas requiring sharper focus for Telangana to climb into the top tier of investment-friendly states.

The IFI framework evaluates how effectively states attract and sustain investments across eight pillars. These pillars include infrastructure, business climate, resources, government policy, regulatory ease, financial health, institutional environment, and environmental resilience, measured through 84 indicators.

Nationally, Gujarat topped the list with 56.6 points, followed by Maharashtra with 53.7 points and Tamil Nadu with 53.3 points. Goa and Odisha completed the top five. Gujarat's top ranking was driven by its strong infrastructure, financial health, regulatory ease, and policy measures. Maharashtra's performance was bolstered by its business climate and private equity inflows, while Tamil Nadu excelled in port efficiency, export performance, and near-100 percent MoU conversion.

Releasing the report, NITI Aayog vice-chairman Ashok Kumar Lahiri noted that India’s investment rate currently stands at around 25 percent. He emphasized the necessity of stronger investment-led growth to support the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision, stating that productive investment is essential for manufacturing, job creation, innovation, and long-term economic expansion.

The report concluded that while Telangana remains highly competitive, targeted improvements in infrastructure, skills development, and policy implementation will be crucial for the state to improve its standing in future editions of the index.