Make in India drove FDI up by 56%: data

As the gover nment struggles to maintain investor confidence, foreign direct investments (FDI) into India has surged by 56% in five months since the Make in India programme was launched on September 24, official data revealed.

The inflow into the manufacturing sector alone saw a jump of 45% at $6.9 billion from $4.8 billion in the corresponding period a year ago.

“India received $ 21.2 billion in inflows overall during the five-month period, against $13.5 billion in the same period last year.If this surge continues, then as per our estimates, 2015-16 would be the year with the second highest FDI ever received by the country since 2000 (when maintenance of data started),” the official said.

The highest FDI inflow into India was in 2010- 11, at $ 45 billion. FDI inflows in AprilSeptember 2014 were to the tune of about $16 billion.

Of the five months under consideration, December and January saw the highest FDI inflows, the of ficials said. Industry experts say that the Make in India campaign has been a game- changer for the investment climate.

Said CII president Sumit Mazumdar: “Make in India has worked a lot for India. The recent Hannover fair was a classic example where every investor was excited and wanted to know more about the campaign to plan their investment in India accordingly.”

According to data for April 2014-February 2015, Mauritius ($8.44 billion or ` 50,640 crore), Singapore ($ 6.42 billion), the Netherlands ($ 3.29 billion), Japan ($1.72 billion) and the US ($1.69 billion) were among the leading investors.