FDI in India up 43 per cent at $3.12 billion in April

Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country grew about 43 per cent year-on-year to $3.12 billion in April 2011, against $2.17 billion received in April 2010.

The spurt in FDI comes after two months of decline in overseas investments into the country and marks a recovery in global markets, especially in the West.

The sectors that received the maximum investment in April 2011 include service ($ 658 million), construction ($ 311 million), power ($ 256 million), computer and hardware ($ 96 million), telecommunications ($ 46 million) and housing and real estate ($ 38 million).

Singapore accounted for a bulk of the FDI into the country, at $1.17 billion in April 2011, followed by Mauritius ($ 976 million), Japan ($ 235 million), France ($ 220) and Cyprus ($ 170 million).

Other major investors in India included the United States, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and the UAE.

The government, meanwhile, has been looking for ways to revive investor confidence and boost FDI flows into the country, which dipped 48 per cent in January 2011 to $1.2 billion, by 30 per cent to $1.04 billion in February and by 11 per cent to $1.0 billion in March, this year compared to FDI in the corresponding months of the previous year.