India received $51 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI), the highest-ever FDI inflow in a fiscal, during April-February FY16, according to Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Secretary Ramesh Abhishek.
Mr. Abhishek said the increased FDI inflow was the result of the government’s efforts to improve the ease of doing business and initiatives such as ‘Make In India.’
“The complex procedures and delays, which were the bane of our system for the last so many decades, are now being gradually dismantled,” he said.
According to data from the DIPP,the previous highest FDI inflow was in FY12 when the country received $46.55 billion, which was a 34 per cent increase over $34.8 billion it got in FY11 However, India recorded its largest-ever percentage increase in FDI when it received $22.8 billion in FY07, representing a 155 per cent increase over the $8.9 billion in FY06. This includes equity, re-invested earnings and other capital.
While the DIPP Secretary gave the numbers till February 2016, the DIPP has officially released data only till December 2015. India received FDI equity (excluding the re-invested earnings and other capital) worth $29.4 billion during April-December period in FY16. Of this, $10.98 billion was from Singapore and $6.1 billion from Mauritius.
Computer software and hardware sectors received $5.3 billion while services sector accounted for $4.2 billion. Automobile and telecom sectors received $1.7 billion and $1.07 billion respectively. Region-wise, the National Capital Territory (comprising Delhi, part of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana) received $10.6 billion while Mumbai got $5.2 billion.
Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in a written reply in Lok Sabha on Monday, said, “Due to the continuous reforms and initiatives being undertaken by the government, the FDI equity inflow has recorded a growth of 44 per cent in its 21 months tenure (June 2014 to Feb. 2016) from $43.87 billion to $63.16 billion over the preceding period of 21 months (Sept. 2012 to May, 2014).”
Though the government plays an active role in investment promotion, “the investment decisions of investors are based on the macro-economic policy framework, investment climate in the host country, investment policies of the trans-national corporations and other commercial considerations,” she said. The minister said to boost the investment environment and bring in foreign investments, the government had brought in FDI-related reforms and liberalisation touching upon 15 major sectors of the economy by putting more FDI proposals in the automatic route.
