Archive · 19 Jul 2026
Andhra Pradesh Ranks 8th in Investment Friendliness Index 2026
Andhra Pradesh has dropped to 8th place in a new ranking called the Investment Friendliness Index for 2026.
This ranking is different from the old one, which only looked at how fast businesses could get approvals.
The new ranking looks at many things like infrastructure, governance, and how healthy the state's finances are.
Andhra Pradesh scored 48.7 out of 100, which is not as good as some other states like Gujarat and Maharashtra.
The state did well in areas like environment resilience and digital transactions, but it did poorly in government policy and business climate.
The report says the state needs to improve its financial health because it has a lot of debt.
Despite these problems, Andhra Pradesh has some strengths, like good power supply and a lot of STEM students.
Andhra Pradesh ranked 8th in NITI Aayog’s Investment Friendliness Index (IFI) 2026, a drop from its previous top position.
The state scored 48.7 out of 100, placing it in the 'Front-runners' category.
Key factors for the drop include fiscal stress, weak government policy indicators, and a subdued business climate.
Andhra Pradesh performed best in environment resilience (78%) and worst in business climate (34%) and government policy (31%).
The state has strengths in digital transactions, power supply, and STEM enrolment but faces challenges in fiscal health and policy predictability.
- Who
- Andhra Pradesh
- What
- Ranked 8th in NITI Aayog’s Investment Friendliness Index (IFI) 2026
- When
- 2026
- Where
- India
- Why
- Due to fiscal stress, weak government policy indicators, and a subdued business climate
- Overall Score
- 48.7 out of 100
- Rank Among Large States
- 6th out of 17
- Fiscal Deficit
- Exceeds twice the target recommended by the 15th Finance Commission
- Digital Transactions per Capita
- 18 (highest in the country)
- Average Daily Power Supply
- 23.71 hours
- Transmission and Distribution Losses
- 14% (better than the large-state average of 18%)
- Non-Metallic Mineral Production
- Around 10% of India's total by value
- Renewable Energy Resource Potential
- Fifth-highest in the country (about 8%)
- STEM Enrolment
- 48% of higher education students pursuing STEM