FDI DOUBLES TO $4.48 BILLION IN JANUARY, HIGHEST IN 29 MONTHS

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in India more than doubled to $4.48 billion in January, the highest inflow in last 29 months. In January, the country had received $2.18 billion in FDI. It was in September 2012 that India had attracted FDI that was worth $4.67 billion.
During the April-January period of the current fiscal, the foreign inflows have grown by 36 per cent, year-on-year, to $25.52 billion, according to data from Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). The inflows were at $18.74 billion during the same period a year ago.

Among the top 10 sectors, telecom received the maximum FDI of $2.83 billion in the 10 month period, followed by services ($2.64 billion), automobiles ($2.04 billion), computer software and hardware ($1.30 billion) and pharmaceuticals ($1.25 billion).
During the period (April-January), India received the maximum FDI from Mauritius at $7.66 billion, followed by Singapore ($5.26 billion), the Netherlands ($3.13 billion), Japan ($1.61 billion) and the US ($1.58 billion). In 2013-14, FDI stood at $24.29 billion as against $22.42 billion a year earlier.

Healthy inflow of foreign investments into the country helped India’s balance of payments (BoP) situation and stabilised the value of rupee. India is estimated to require around $1 trillion over five years to overhaul its infrastructure sector, including ports, airports and highways to boost growth.