India is undergoing a transition, both in terms of investor perceptions of its market potential, and in reality. With economic growth projected to surpass 8% annually and the number of people in the Indian middle class set to treble over the next 15 years, meaning a corresponding impact on disposable income, domestic demand is expected to grow by a compound rate of 9.2% per year between 2010 and 2030. This puts India in a good position to attract an increasing proportion of global foreign direct investments (FDI). Many foreign corporations have realized this, and are seeking to reinforce their positions in India in order to seize the opportunity. Netherlands is among the leading investors in the country, with cumulative FDI inflows of approximately USD 5.8 billion between April 2000 and April 2011.

India enjoys over 400-year long history of trade with Netherlands which ranks eighteenth on the list of top traded countries with India. The two-way trade between the nations amounted to over USD 8.5 billion in 2009-10, of which exports and imports were USD 6.4 billion and USD 2.1 billion respectively.