FDI in India more than doubles to $3.5 billion in July

Foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into India more than doubled to $3.5 billion in July compared to FDI worth $1.65 billion the country received in July 2013, data released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion today showed.

During April-July period of the current fiscal, foreign inflows grew by 52 per cent to $10.73 billion compared to $7.05 billion in the same period last year.

Amongst the top 10 sectors, telecommunications received the maximum FDI of $2.33 billion, followed by service sector ($1 billion), pharmaceuticals ($886 million) and construction ($430 million) during the first-four months of the fiscal.

During the period, India received maximum FDI of $3.38 billion from Mauritius, followed by Singapore ($1.66 billion), Netherlands ($1.49 billion), Japan ($834 million), UK ($824 million) and the US ($351 million).

In 2013-14, the FDI inflows in India were $24.29 billion against $22.42 billion in 2012-13.

India requires around $1 trillion in the next five years to overhaul its infrastructure sector, including ports, airports and highways to boost growth.

The government is taking more steps to boost FDI in the country. It has raised the foreign investment limit to 49 per cent in defence manufacturing and relaxed the policy in construction sector. The government has also proposed to increase the FDI cap in insurance to 49 per cent.