New Delhi: Foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to India surged by about 34 per cent to USD 1.92 billion in June, according to the official data. In June 2013, the country had received FDI worth USD 1.44 billion.
During April-June in this fiscal, the foreign inflows recorded a growth of 34 per cent. FDI was at USD 7.23 billion in April-June, 2014-15 compared to USD 5.39 billion in April-June 2013-14, the data by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion showed.
In May, the FDI figure (USD 3.60 billion) was the highest since September 2013 when the country received foreign investment of USD 4.13 billion.
Amongst the top 10 sectors, telecommunications received the maximum FDI in the first quarter of the current fiscal at USD 2 billion followed by services (USD 738 million), pharmaceuticals (USD 680 million) and construction (USD 281 million).
During the period, India received maximum FDI from Mauritius at USD 2.61 billion, followed by Singapore (USD 1.18 billion), the UK (USD 567 million), Japan (USD 695 million) and the US (USD 249 million).
In 2013-14, FDI inflows in India were USD 24.29 billion against USD 22.42 billion in 2012-13. India requires around USD 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.
