Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Indian equities rose 259 per cent to $2.56 billion in September this year against $713 million in the same month in 2007, government data showed.
 
The FDI equity inflows during April-September 2008 rose to $17.21 billion. This represents a growth of 137 per cent over the previous year (FDI equity inflows during April-September 2007 were $7.25 billion).

The service sectors attracted the highest FDI equity inflows during April-August 2008 ($2.34 billion) while construction activities, including roads and highways, attracted investments if $1.64 billion, housing and real estate ($1.62 billion) and computer hardware and software ($1.36 billion).

The top investing countries in terms of FDI equity inflows during April-August 2008 were Mauritius ($5.27 billion), Singapore ($1.72 billion), US ($1.15 billion) and the Netherlands ($580 million).