Who Needs to Look at India in 2025?

1 Macro snapshot — India in numbers

• GDP: ≈ USD 3.8 trillion, with the IMF projecting ~6.8 % real growth in FY 2025-26.

• Demographics: 67 % of 1.44 billion citizens are under 35; 12 million new entrants to the workforce each year.

• Digital economy: 150 billion annual UPI payments; cheapest 1 GB mobile data cost among G-20.

• Capital inflows: USD 46 billion net FDI in FY 2024-25 — highest ever for India, third-highest globally.

• Political stability: Single-party majority since 2014; 34 places jumped in World Bank Logistics index (2016-24).

2 India vs peer destinations

Beacon Filing takeaway: India’s talent pool and data-cost advantage outweigh slightly higher corporate tax versus ASEAN peers.

3 Five structural advantages foreign founders love

1. Unified Single Market — GST subsumed 17 taxes; interstate e-way bill lets a truck cross India in 72 hrs (vs 138 hrs pre-2017).

2. Digital Public Infrastructure — Aadhaar, UPI, Account-Aggregator rails slash KYC cost by 70 %.

3. Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Schemes — 14 sectors, USD 26 bn incentives till 2028; mobile phones alone drew Apple & Samsung supply chains.

4. Growing Middle Class — 85 million households will earn > USD 10k disposable income by 2027 (EY estimate).

5. Geo-economic hedge — “China + 1” sourcing strategy pushes suppliers to India for risk diversification.

4 Hot sectors for 2025-30

5 Incentive menu you can mix-and-match

• GIFT City Section 80LA: Choose any 10 of 15 years at 0 % income tax.

• SEZ profit holiday: 15 yrs (100 % for 5 yrs, 50 % next 10).

• State SGST refunds: Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu refund 50-75 % of state GST for mega projects.

• Import-duty exemptions: Zero customs on capital goods routed through SEZ/GIFT for export production.
  Beacon Filing models NPV of each incentive stack so CFOs know which state + scheme combo maximises IRR.

6 Entry pathways & timelines

7 Biggest mistakes we fix Using a trading entity for future manufacturing — loses PLI eligibility; we structure spin-off before cap-ex hits. Late Form FC-GPR / FLA filings — RBI penalties at USD 7,000 per entry; our FEMA desk files within 30 days of share issue. Over-aggressive royalty pricing — triggers 10 % withholding + transfer-pricing adjustment; Beacon Filing benchmarks to OECD range.

8 Real-world founder stories

• Seoul-based SaaS opened a GIFT unit; 10-year tax holiday saved USD 1.8 m in year 1.
• Dutch EV battery firm flipped a contract-manufacture deal into a 100 % subsidiary in 22 days; imported pilot line duty-free.
• US wellness brand tested D2C demand via an Amazon India storefront, then moved into a Bengaluru warehouse once monthly GMV hit ₹1 cr.

9 Beacon Filing — your India launch engineer

• Big-4 trained CAs + ex-DPIIT policy officers on one retainer.

• FEMA, transfer-pricing and indirect-tax desks in-house — no agency ping-pong.

• Launch-to-scale playbook: entity set-up → incentives → bookkeeping → audit → exit support.

• Flat-fee + SLA: weekly progress tracker, escrow refund if milestone slips.

Ready to make India your fastest-growing market?
Book a strategy call and let Beacon Filing turn regulations into runway.

Disclaimer (23 July 2025): Data reflects sources available on the date above; laws and incentives may change. Always seek personalised professional advice before acting.