Inflows of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into India have been witnessing a year-on-year increase since 2014, with the total FDI inflows standing at US$61 billion at the close of fiscal year 2017-18, according to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
The FDI inflows, which showed a dip of about 26% in 2012-13, started to pick up since financial year 2013-14. While it grew at 5% in fiscal year 2013-14, the growth during financial year 2014-15 stood at 25%, increasing from $35 billion to over $45 billion.
FDI inflows into India during 2015-16 also saw an increase to $55 billion, showing a growth of 23% in comparison to the previous fiscal year.
However, in the last two years, FDI inflows have seen a major dip in growth. In 2016-17, FDI inflows increased by just 8% and in financial year 2017-18, the increase was just by 3% which stood at $61 billion against $60 billion last year.
The information was furnished by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).
According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the highest amount of FDI that came into India was from Mauritius and amounted for about US$44 billion which amounts to about 31% of the total FDI inflows into India between 2014 and March 2018.
This is followed by Singapore which invested about US$38 billion in India in the last four years amounting to some 26% of the total FDI inflows into India between 2014 and March 2018.
The other countries that contributed largely to FDI inflows in India include Japan, China and USA.
Some countries like Netherlands, Germany, and the UAE have also invested in India during the said period.
The manufacturing sector has attracted the highest FDI, followed by sectors like agriculture and the services sector.
An official in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said that the increase in FDI is due to the “Make in India” programme of the government and a huge push by the government to advertise this scheme throughout the world, gaining the confidence of the investors.