FDI jumps 34% to $1.92 billion in June

Foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to India surged by about 34 per cent to $1.92 billion in June, according to the official data.

In June 2013, the country had received FDI worth $1.44 billion.

During April-June in this fiscal, the foreign inflows recorded a growth of 34 per cent. FDI was at $7.23 billion in April-June, 2014-15 compared to $5.39 billion in April-June 2013-14, the data by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion showed.

In May, the FDI figure ($3.60 billion) was the highest since September 2013 when the country received foreign investment of $4.13 billion.

Amongst the top 10 sectors, telecommunications received the maximum FDI in the first quarter of the current fiscal at $2 billion followed by services ($738 million), pharmaceuticals ($680 million) and construction ($281 million).

During the period, India received maximum FDI from Mauritius at $2.61 billion, followed by Singapore ($1.18 billion), the UK ($567 million), Japan ($695 million) and the US ($249 million).

In 2013-14, FDI inflows in India were $24.29 billion against $22.42 billion in 2012-13.

India requires around $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.