Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows into India increased 47 per cent to $1.7 billion in April-June quarter this fiscal, compared to $1.1 billion in the same period last fiscal. FDI inflows in June grew 102 per cent to 534 million dollars, as against $264 million in June last year.

The cumulative amount of FDI inflows from January 1991 to March 2006 amounted to US$ 38,902 million

FDI equity inflows grew by 72 percent in 2005-06 with nearly 70 percent of the FDI going into the manufacturing sector.

· The estimate for total FDI inflows for 2006-07 stands at US$12 billion.

The top investing countries with respect to FDI inflows in India are Mauritius, USA, Japan, Netherlands, UK, Germany, Singapore, France, South Korea and Switzerland.

The most prominent sectors attracting FDI are manufacturing, automobiles, engineering, telecom, electronics and chemicals.

Bilateral investment treaties, double taxation avoidance agreements and comprehensive economic cooperation agreements have been signed to facilitate investment with various countries. Double tax avoidance agreement has been signed with nearly 69 countries and bilateral investment protection agreements with 47 countries.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country's food sector is poised to hit the $3-bn mark.

In a clear indication of a positive outlook with respect to the Indian stocks among overseas investors, 86 new foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in the first four months of calendar 2006. With this, the number of FIIs to set up shop in the country has crossed the 900 mark.

An Economic Times Intelligence Group (ETIG) analysis of the FII shareholding pattern of the BSE 500 firms showed that within this sample, the number of companies that have received inflows has increased from 434 in March '05 to 480 in March '06.

According to Investment Commission of India, investment opportunity of US $ 500 billion would emerge in India in the next 5 years in major economic sectors, of which US $ 250 billion investment opportunities exist in the infrastructure sector alone.

The Indian auto industry with a turnover of US $ 12 billion and the auto parts industry with a turnover of US$ 3 billion offer excellent scope for FDI.

The investment commission has identified 93 foreign companies across various sectors as potential investors. These include Norsk Hydro, Singapore Power, select Japanese and Korean companies for road development projects, Deutsche Telecom, China Telecom, SK Telecom, BT, NEC and Toshiba, Alcan, RusAl, Burlington, Petronas, Sumitomo, Hanwa, Degussa, Renault, Scania and EADS among others.

According to Central Electricity Authority's sixteenth electric power survey, peak demand is expected to increase by a staggering 77 percent to 157,107 MW by 2012. Similarly, the energy requirement is also expected to increase by 274 percent to 975,222 MU by 2012. It is estimated that a capacity addition of over 100,000 MW units by 2012 to bridge the supply deficit and keep up with the increasing demand. The total investment required in capacity creation, along with necessary investments in transmission and distribution segments is estimated at US$ 200 billion. This quantum of investment calls for public -private partnerships in the sector.

The total investment opportunity in the port sector is estimated at US$ 20 billion upto 2012. The Maritime sector (Ports and Shipping, Inland waterways) requires an investment of US$ 22 billion for future development.

The total estimated Investment Opportunity in the retail sector is around US$ 5-6 Billion in the Next five years. Certain segments that promise a high growth are Food and Grocery (91 per cent), Clothing (55 per cent), Furniture and Fixtures (27 per cent), Pharmacy (27 per cent), Durables, Footwear & Leather, Watch & Jewellery (18 per cent).

The Indian pharmaceutical market has been forecast to grow to as much as US$ 25 billion by 2010 as per Organization of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) estimates. However, Espicom's market projections forecast more modest but stable annual market growth of around 7.2 per cent, putting the market at US$ 11.6 billion by 2009.

Health tourism presents significant investment potential. At the current pace of growth, medical tourism, currently pegged at US$ 350 million, has the potential to grow into a US$ 2 billion industry by 2012.

Healthcare sector provides another investment outlet. With the expected increase in the pharmaceutical market, the total healthcare market could rise from Rs 1,030 billion (US$ 22.2 billion) currently (5.2 per cent of GDP) to Rs 2,320 billion (US$ 50 billion)-Rs 3,200 billion (US$ 69 billion) (6.2-8.5 per cent of GDP) by 2012.

Healthcare spending in the country will double over the next 10 years. Private healthcare will form a large chunk of this spending, rising from US$ 14.8 billion to US$ 33.6 billion in 2012. This figure could rise by an additional US$ 8.4 billion if health insurance cover is available to the rich and the middle class. The voluntary health insurance market, which is estimated at US$ 86.3 million currently, is growing at a fast pace and Industry estimates put the figure at US$ 2.8 billion by 2005.