India provides hospitable environment for FDI: PM Manmohan Singh

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said India provides a "hospitable" environment for foreign direct investments ( FDI) and will continue to improve the situation.

"India provides a hospitable environment for FDI, we will continue to do so. We will continue to improve our practices wherever they are needed," Singh told a press conference here.

Last year, the government has liberalised FDI policy norms in almost a dozen sectors including telecom, defence, PSU oil refineries, commodity bourses, power exchanges and stock exchanges.

However FDI into the country during April-November period of the current fiscal has declined by 15 per cent to $2.6 billion from $14.7 billion in the same period last year.

Towards the close of 2013, the finance ministry approved the proposal of UK-based Tesco to invest $110 million in opening up of multi-brand retail stores in the country in partnership with Tata Group firm Trent.

The government is also in the process of liberalising the foreign direct investment norms in construction activities, railways and e-commerce.

India is projected to require around &1 trillion between 2012-13 and 2016-17, the 12th Five Year Plan period, to fund infrastructure growth covering sectors such as ports, airports and highways.

A decline in FDI would hurt the rupee, which had depreciated to a record low of 68.85 against the US dollar on August 28. It has strengthened since then to about 62 level.