Political issues apart, FDI inflows doubled in Q1: FM
Asserting that political controversies in India did not dent the investor sentiment, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said FDI inflows rose to more than USD 7.9 billion during April-June quarter, which is almost twice the amount received during the year-ago period.
November 03, 2011 / 09:33 IST
Asserting that political controversies in India did not dent the investor sentiment, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said FDI inflows rose to more than USD 7.9 billion during April-June quarter, which is almost twice the amount received during the year-ago period.
"The ground reality is that in the last three months, India received more than USD 7.9 billion FDI, almost double the amount recorded during the corresponding period in the previous year .It speaks of the investment climate," Mukherjee said answering a question if political controversies in the
country had caused distress to investors."Our projections we have made in the budget, I have not addressed, because the first quarter figures are not yet available. I don't visualise any substantial change," he added.Holding a joint press conference with British Chancellor of Exchequer George Osborne after their meeting here, Mukherjee said inflation and fiscal consolidation are areas of concerns. "We cannot allow fiscal deficit to go up-- it reached 6.5% of GDP; it has been brought down to 4.7% during 2010-11," he noted.Food inflation has come down from 22% in February 2010 to 8% now, he said. "Even 8 per cent food inflation is not acceptable, he added.Seeking more investment in the infrastructure sector, Mukherjee said India would need about USD 1 trillion for development of facilities like road, ports and railways in the 12th Five-Year Plan period beginning April 2012. "The fast growth of the economy in the recent years has placed increasing stress on physical infrastructure, such as electricity, railways, roads, ports, airports, irrigation, urban and rural water supply and sanitation, all of which
suffer from a substantial capacity deficit," he added.He further said that issues like land acquisition, environment clearance and resettlement and rehabilitation are under "continuous policy churn". The government, the Minister said, has taken major initiative in liberalising the norms for payment for technology transfer, trademark, royalty and brand names. India intends to double its exports in the next three years to USD 500 billion, he said, adding the government is in the process of finalising a National Manufacturing Policy with a view to scale up share of manufacturing in GDP to 25% from 16%. Referring to global issues, Mukherjee stressed that a fast recovery in growth momentum in the advanced economies is essential for putting the global economy on a sustained growth path of the pre-crisis period."A renewed weakness in the US economy, the danger of sovereign debt crisis in peripheral Euro-zone countries and its spillover to financial markets, checking global recovery, are continuing sources of concern," he said. The challenges of the global economy, he said, need to be addressed in a coordinated manner at global level. Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
