FDI in India up 13 per cent to over $1.5 billion in December

Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into the country stood at $1.542 billion in December 2009, up 13 per cent in dollar terms from inflows of $1.362 billion in December 2008.

Investment flows into the country have shown a rising trend since June 2009 in the current financial year (excepting only September 2009) compared with the same months in the previous financial year (2008-09), commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma said.

"Keeping in view this momentum, it is quite likely that the total inflows in the current financial year (2009-10) exceed the total inflows received during the last financial year (2008-09)", he said.

Cumulative FDI inflows in the current financial year (April 2009 to December 2009) stood at $20.92 billion against FDI inflows in the comparable period of the previous fiscal (April 2008 to December 2008) of $21.15 billion. The corresponding figure for April 2007 to December 2007 was $12.70 billion.

Total FDI into India so far since the onset of the liberalisation process (August 1991-December 2009) is nearly $127.46 billion, he said.

This, the minister said, has been achieved despite the fact that the UNCTAD World Investment Report, 2009, had projected a 14 per cent fall in global FDI flows - from a historic high of $1.979 trillion in 2007 to $1.697 trillion in 2008.

UNCTAD had subsequently predicted a 30 per cent fall in FDI flows, from $1.7 trillion in 2008 to $1.2 trillion in 2009.