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

India received most FDI of $6.7 bn from Singapore, followed by Mauritius ($3.6 bn), the Netherlands ($1.09 bn), and Japan ($815 mn)

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country grew 13 per cent to $16.6 billion during the April-September period of the current financial year.

The foreign investment was $14.7 billion during April-September 2014, according to the latest figures of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).

During the first half of the financial year, India received most FDI of $6.7 billion from Singapore, followed by Mauritius ($3.6 billion), the Netherlands ($1.09 billion), and Japan ($815 million).

Sectors that attracted highest foreign investment in the period include computer software and hardware ($3.05 billion), trading ($2.3 billion), services and automobile ($1.5 billion each), and telecommunications ($659 million).

During financial year 2014-15, foreign fund inflows grew at 27 per cent to $30.9  billion as against $24.3 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 Limited Liability Partnerships, to boost FDI in the country. LLP is a flexible legal and tax entity that allows partners to benefit from economies of scale by working together while also reducing their liability for the actions of other partners.

Foreign investments are crucial as India needs $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 and strengthen the rupee.