New Delhi, Jan 29 (IANS) The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into India's services sector grew by 15 per cent during the April-October period of the current fiscal owing to various reforms by the government, according to the Economic Survey 2017-18 presented in Parliament on Monday.
These reforms include implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) policy and reforms for ease of doing business, said the government's annual report on the economy authored by Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian.
"The government has undertaken a number of reforms to ensure that India remains an increasingly attractive investment destination, which includes announcement of the IPR policy, implementation of GST, reforms for ease of doing business," the Survey said.
"FDI policy provisions were radically overhauled across sectors such as construction development, broadcasting, retail trading, air transport, insurance and pension," it said, noting that 25 sectors, including services activities, and covering 100 areas of FDI policy have undergone reforms.
Currently, more than 90 per cent of FDI inflows are through the automatic route, while the government has announced the phasing out of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).
Earlier this month, the Union Cabinet approved amendments in the FDI policy permitting 100 per cent FDI under the automatic route for single brand retail trading. Moreover, foreign airlines have been allowed to invest up to 49 per cent in Air India.
The Survey also said the share of services stood at 56.6 per cent of the cumulative FDI equity inflows during the period April 2000-October 2017, and at 65.8 per cent of FDI equity inflows during the first seven months (April-October) of 2017-18.
