India's FDI inflows up 1.5% to $2.18 billion in January

Foreign direct investments (FDI) into the country grew by a modest 1.5 per cent to $2.18 billion in January, latest data released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion showed.

FDI flows into the country stood at $2.15 billion in January 2913.

In December 2013, India received $1.1 billion in foreign capital, unchanged from the level in the same month a year earlier.

For the April-January period of the current fiscal, however, foreign investments into the country dipped 2 per cent to $18.74 billion from $19.1 billion during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, it said.

During the first 10 months of this fiscal, the service sector attracted the highest FDI of $1.80 billion, followed by pharmaceuticals ($1.26 billion), automobiles ($1 billion) and construction development ($966 million).

Region-wise, Mauritius accounted for $4.11 billion on investment flows into India during April-January, followed by Singapore ($3.67 billion), UK ($3.18 billion) and the Netherlands ($1.7 billion).

India, which witnessed a decline in growth rate to levels around 4.5 per cent in 2012-13, needs foreign investment to help regain its growth momentum.

The country needs an estimated $1 trillion to fund infrastructure projects during the 12th Five-Year Plan (2012-13 to 2016-17).