Foreign investment up by 151 percent in 2006: report
Monday, 26 March 2007, 17:30 IST
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New Delhi: Betting on India's growth story, foreign firms increased their investments in the country by 151 percent during April-December 2006, according to official data released on Monday. "FDI (foreign direct investment) inflows during the period April-December had been $9,272 million against $3,697 million in the corresponding period last year, representing a record increase of 151 percent," said the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) of the commerce and industry ministry. According to the DIPP's annual report, the amount invested by foreign players shows their confidence in India. The rise is also due to measures such as increasing the FDI limit to 100 percent in many sectors, increase in equity caps, removal of restrictive conditions and procedural simplification. "India's forex (foreign exchange) reserves stood at $193.12 billion on Feb 23, 2007 up from $151.62 billion at the end of March 2006," said the statement. The period between April-December 2006 also saw surging of industrial growth to 10.8 percent from eight percent in the same period of the preceding year. The industrial growth was led mainly by the manufacturing sector, which grew at 11.8 percent in the same period. According to the report, the capital goods sector also maintained steady performance registering a 17.5 percent growth. "This has been possible due to new investment and capacity addition by the industry. This augurs well for the future growth of Indian industry because plants, machinery and mother goods, which constitute this sector, are needed for further production," the report said.
Source: IANS
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