The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has approved about 76 proposals since the inception of the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy on the retail sector, from February, 2006 and upto December, 2013.

The major sectors, other than retail, in which the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has granted approvals so far are defence, broadcasting, print media, civil aviation, asset reconstruction companies, banking, commodity exchanges, courier services, construction development, telecom services, non-banking financial services, and brownfield pharma.

FDI is largely a function of private business decisions which in turn are based on a number of factors including the global economic situation and the business environment in the recipient country. Therefore, FDI inflows vary from year to year depending upon these factors.

The information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Dr. E.M. Sudarsana Natchiappan in Rajya Sabha today.

Foreign investment approvals reflect sectoral clearance trends and depend on private business decisions and market conditions. The Foreign Investment Promotion Board has cleared retail-sector FDI proposals since the retail FDI policy began and has granted approvals across multiple other sectors, including defence, broadcasting, print media, civil aviation, asset reconstruction, banking, commodity exchanges, courier services, construction development, telecom services, non-banking financial services, and brownfield pharmaceuticals. FDI inflows are driven by private business decisions shaped by global economic conditions and the domestic business environment, causing year-to-year variation in inflows and in FIPB clearance activity.