Foreign direct investment up 8% in FY'14 at $24.3 billion

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

In 2012-13, FDI aggregated at USD 22.4 billion. In March, the foreign investment inflows more than doubled to USD 3.53 billion from USD 1.52 in the same month last year. The highest FDI came in services (USD 2.22 billion), followed by automobiles (USD 1.51 billion), telecommunications (USD 1.3 billion), pharmaceuticals (USD 1.27 billion) and construction development (USD 1.22 billion) in 2013-14.

Singapore led the FDI inflows into India with USD 5.98 billion, followed by Mauritius (USD 4.85 billion), the UK (USD 3.21 billion) and the Netherlands (USD 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% in 2012-13.

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