Foreign investment up 13% to $16.63 bn in H1 FY16

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country grew by 13 percent to USD 16.63 billion during the April-September period of the current fiscal. The foreign investment was USD 14.69 billion during April-September 2014, according to the latest figures of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). During the fist half of the financial year, India received maximum FDI of USD 6.69 billion from Singapore followed by Mauritius (USD 3.66 billion), the Netherlands (USD 1.09 billion) and Japan (USD 815 million).

Sectors which attracted highest foreign investment in the period includes computer software and hardware (USD 3.05 billion), trading (USD 2.30 billion), services and automobile (USD 1.46 billion each) and telecommunications (USD 659 million). During financial year 2014-15, foreign fund inflows grew at 27 percent to USD 30.93 billion as against USD 24.29 billion in 2013-14. The government has relaxed FDI norms in as many as 15 sectors including defence, single brand retail, construction development, civil aviation and LLPs to boost FDI in the country.

Foreign investments are considered crucial for India, which needs around USD 1 trillion in the next five years to overhaul its infrastructure sector such as ports, airports and highways to boost growth. Growth in foreign investments helps improve the country's balance of payments (BoP) situation and strengthen the rupee.