FDI in India increases to six months high in April

15 Jul 2013 Evaluate

Foreign direct investment (FDI) into India increased 25 percent year-on-year to $ 2.32 billion or Rs 12,623 crore in April, the highest level in the past six months, as against FDI worth $1.86 billion or Rs 9620 crore in April 2012. FDI flows year to April stood at $7.70 billion or Rs 38,974 crore.

According to the data from the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Hotel and tourism were the sector that received largest FDI equity inflows during the month ($2.32 billion), followed by pharmaceuticals ($987 million), services ($ 238 million), chemicals ($ 51 million) and construction ($ 32 million).

Geographically the most FDI in April came from Singapore ($ 1.29 billion), followed by Mauritius ($ 355 million), the Netherlands ($ 173 million), US ($ 149 million) and France ($41).

There have been voices raised regularly from different ministries for raising FDI limit in different sectors, as an increase in FDI will help support the rupee. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh too has backed the finance ministry and industry department’s plan to raise FDI ceiling in telecom to 100%, besides allowing overseas flows into several sectors without prior government approval. The finance ministry has proposed changes in FDI caps for sectors, including tea, media, petroleum and natural gas.

Recently a panel led by Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) secretary Arvind Mayaram submitted its report on reviewing FDI sectoral caps to the finance minister and recommended keeping the minimum FDI cap across sectors at 49 percent, so the FDI limit in sectors with a 26 percent cap can be hiked to 49 percent. Furthermore, the panel also recommended hiking the FDI limit in sectors with a 74 percent cap to 100 percent. However, there has some opposition from within the government for raising FDI caps, even Planning Commission was against the government’s proposal to further tweak FDI norms in retail sector.

© 2026 The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. MoneyWorks4Me ® is a registered trademark of The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd.

×