In an encouraging development for the economy, Finance Minister, Arun Jaitely underscored that foreign direct investment (FDI) in India grew by about 40% Year-On-Year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 1.76 lakh crore in 2014-15 as compared to Rs 1.26 lakh crore in 2013-14.
The minister further asserted that out of 350 proposals received, 241 proposals were cleared in 11 meetings. Notably, the government has relaxed FDI norms in various sectors, including insurance, railways and medical devices, to boost FDI in the country.
According to the data of Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) the top 10 sectors that receive maximum foreign investment include services, automobiles, telecommunication, computer software and hardware and pharmaceuticals. Meanwhile, country-wise, India attracts maximum FDI from Mauritius, Singapore, the Netherlands, Japan, and the US.
Healthy inflow of foreign investments into the country would help ease India's balance of payments (BoP) situation. Notably, the India is estimated to have a requirement of around $1 trillion investment over five years to overhaul its infrastructure sector, including ports, airports and highways to boost growth.