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The UK continues to be the biggest G20 investor in India, according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), beating out Japan and the United States.

Britain invested $24.1bn (£19.4bn) in India between 2000 and 2016, representing 8% of all foreign direct investments into the country during the period.

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The figure is marginally ahead of Japan, which invested $23.8bn, while the US invested $19.4bn.

However, in the eighteen months between April 2015 and September 2016, Japanese investment into India – at $5.5bn – exceeded British investment by nearly threefold.

The CBI said UK companies created the largest number of Indian jobs of any nation, with one in 10 jobs created by FDI in India between 2000 and 2016 created by British FDI.

A quarter of British investment in India was directed towards the chemicals sector, while the pharmaceuticals and food processing sectors received 17% and 13%, respectively.

"The facts and figures in this report demonstrate the strength of the relationship and the strong business eco-system that the UK's private sector has built in India," the CBI said in a press release.

"Britain's changed situation after the Brexit referendum and the bold economic initiatives taken by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi such as the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax, demonetisation, and digitalisation of the economy are opening up new avenues for further enriching the relationship."

Between April 2015 and September 2016, nearly a quarter of all British investment went to the capital Delhi.

CBI director-general Carolyn Fairbairn said: "These figures reflect the thriving commercial links that Britain's businesses – large and small, and from a whole host of sectors – have built in India, and which the prime minister saw on her first visit outside the EU.

"From strengthening the UK's leading position as the largest G20 investor in India to being the biggest Indian job creator through direct investment, it's clear the country is a magnet for British firms."