FDI up 8% in FY'14 at $24.3 bln

Foreign direct investment into India grew by 8 per cent year-on-year to $ 24.3 billion in 2013-14, according to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) data.

In 2012-13, FDI aggregated at $ 22.4 billion.

In March, the foreign investment inflows more than doubled to $ 3.53 billion from $ 1.52 in the same month last year.

The highest FDI came in services ( $ 2.22 billion), followed by automobiles ( $ 1.51 billion), telecommunications ( $ 1.3 billion), pharmaceuticals ( $ 1.27 billion) and construction development ( $ 1.22 billion) in 2013-14.

Singapore led the FDI inflows into India with $ 5.98 billion, followed by Mauritius ( $ 4.85 billion), the UK ( $ 3.21 billion) and the Netherlands ( $ 2.27 billion).

The country needs foreign investment to help regain its growth momentum. India’s economic growth slowed to a decade’s low of 4.5 per cent in 2012-13.

The country is estimated to require about $ 1 trillion between 2012-13 and 2016-17, the 12th Five-Year Plan period, to fund nfrastructure projects.