Data on foreign investment is maintained by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Separate data on NRI investment is, however, not maintained by them. The data on total FDI inflows under automatic and approval route over the past five years, as reported by RBI, is as under:
| Sl. No | Financial Year | FDI Inflows (in US$ million) |
| 1 | 2008-09 | 26732 |
| 2. | 2009-10 | 22458 |
| 3 | 2010-11 | 14939 |
| 4. | 2011-12 | 23473 |
| 5 | 2012-13(April-Dec.2012) | 13920 |
Major sectors in which FDI inflows made are Service, Metallurgical Industries, Construction Development, Information & Broadcasting, Chemicals and Textiles.
The policy for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), including investment from NRIs, permits FDI, under the automatic route, in several sectors. Investment is promoted through dissemination of information on the investment climate and opportunities in India and by advising prospective investors, including NRIs, about the same. ‘Invest India’, a joint venture between the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) acts as a facilitator, for prospective overseas investors, including NRIs. To encourage the NRI’s for investment the OverseasIndian Facilitation Centre (OIFC) has been set up jointly by the Ministry and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre (OIFC) use to organise investment and interactive Meets in different countries, and also during thePravasi Bhartiya Divas.
RAJIV RANJAN 