To promote Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), the Government has put in place an investor-friendly policy, wherein most sectors except certain strategically important sectors are open for 100% FDI under the automatic route. Further, the policy on FDI is reviewed on an ongoing basis, to ensure that India remains attractive & investor friendly destination. Changes are made in the policy after having consultations with stakeholders including apex industry chambers, associations, representatives of industries/groups and other organizations. Government has recently undertaken a number of reforms across sectors. In the recent past, reforms in the FDI policy have been undertaken in sectors such as Insurance, Petroleum & Natural Gas, Telecom etc.

Foreign Direct Investment inflows serve to augment domestic investments, promote industrial development and employment generation across sectors and ancillary industries. Further, such investments bring international best practices and latest technologies which facilitate in skill development, export promotion and improvement of overall competitiveness of economy leading to overall economic growth and development of the country. The major sectors which received highest FDI equity inflow during April, 2000 to December, 2021 are Services Sector, Computer Software & Hardware, Telecommunications, Trading and Automobile Industry.

This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Shri Som Parkash, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

Open FDI automatic route expands investor access and policy reviews, facilitating sectoral reforms and increased foreign investment inflows. The Government permits most sectors, except certain strategic areas, to receive 100% FDI under the automatic route, with the FDI policy subject to ongoing review and revisions after stakeholder consultations. Recent reforms have targeted sectors such as Insurance, Petroleum & Natural Gas and Telecom. FDI inflows are described as supporting domestic investment, industrial development, employment, technology transfer, export promotion and competitiveness, with major equity recipients including Services, Computer Software & Hardware, Telecommunications, Trading and Automobile industries.