New Delhi: The foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into India more than doubled to USD 3.60 billion in May, the highest in the last eight months.
In May 2013, the country had received FDI worth USD 1.63 billion.
During April-May this fiscal, the foreign inflows grew by 34 percent to USD 5.30 billion as compared to USD 3.95 billion in the same period last year, according to the data of Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.
The monthly FDI figures for May are the highest since September 2013 when the country received foreign investment of USD 4.13 billion.
Amongst the top 10 sectors, telecommunications received the maximum FDI in May at USD 1.51 billion followed by pharmaceuticals (USD 680 million), services (USD 574 million) and construction (USD 221 million).
During the month, India received maximum FDI from Mauritius at USD 2.28 billion, followed by Singapore (USD 982 million), UK (USD 545 million), Japan (USD 319 million) and the US (USD 154 million).
In 2013-14, the FDI inflows in India were USD 24.29 billion against USD 22.42 billion in 2012-13.
India requires around USD 1 trillion in the next five years to overhaul its infrastructure sector, including ports, airports and highways to boost growth.
The government is taking more steps to boost FDI in the country. It has raised the foreign investment limit to 49 percent in defence manufacturing and relaxed the policy in construction sector. The government has also proposed to increase the FDI cap in insurance to 49 percent.
