With over 11 per cent share in the total foreign direct investment (FDI) proposed in 2011-12, Gujarat has emerged as the third most favourite investment destination, after Orrisa (27 per cent) and Andhra Pradesh (19 per cent), for overseas investors across India, apex industry body Assocham said here on Monday.
Gujarat got the second highest number of 131 FDI proposals attracting proposed investment worth Rs 20,258 crore, a State-wise analysis of the proposed FDI and the number of FDI proposals filed in India during 2011-12, carried out by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry in India, shows.
Though, barely 17 FDI proposals were filed in Orissa, the State garnered the lion’s share of FDI worth about Rs 49,527 crore. Andhra Pradesh, with 70 proposals received, attracted FDI worth about Rs 33,936 crore.
A total of 763 FDI proposals worth over Rs 1.78 lakh crore were filed across various States during this period, said Bhagyesh Soneji, chairperson of the ASSOCHAM Gujarat Council.
Telecommunications, construction, computers (software and hardware), real estate and housing, chemicals, drugs and pharmaceuticals, power, automobiles and metallurgical industries are the leading sectors attracting the highest FDI inflows across India.
Chattisgarh stood fourth (Rs 20,000 crore) and Karnataka fifth (Rs 14,000 crore) in the list. Although Maharashtra got the highest number of FDI proposals (144), the State ranked sixth with proposed FDI worth over Rs 12,000 crore.
Among the top 20 States, West Bengal, once the face of modern industrial India, ranked 14th, only above Bihar, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and Kerala, and managed 24 FDI
proposals worth a meager Rs 1,243 crore.
Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab stayed ahead of West Bengal and attracted FDI proposals worth between Rs 8,600 crore and Rs 1,200 crore.
The Assocham study, titled ‘India’s experience with FDI: Role of a game changer’, said that bureaucratic delays and processes vis-à-vis a plethora of Governmental approvals and clearances involving various
ministries must be fastened to increase the absorption of FDI in India. The Government should devise a mechanism to facilitate a consultation between the Centre and state governments before rolling out a policy to ensure that the decision once taken does not get affected.
“Restrictions on sector caps and entry route to sectors other than those of national importance must be liberalized further and constant reviewing of policies must be done,” said D.S. Rawat, National Secretary-General, Assocham. Besides, the Government must ensure consistency of policy so as to perk up the business and investor confidence.