Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) brings in capital and technology, which are essential for qualitative and quantitative growth of the communication sector. Telephone subscribers have grown from 142 million to 562 million during April 2006 to December 2009.

The details of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) received in telecommunications sector during the last three years are as under:

(in Crore Rs.)

S.No. Year (Ending March) Investment in Telecom Sector
1. 2006-07 2,155
2. 2007-08 5,103
3. 2008-09 11,727
4. 2009-10 (till December, 2009) 11,442
5. Total 30,427

The details of proposals approved by the Government during the last three years along with the sectors are:

(Amount in million)

Sl. No Name of the Sector No. of Approvals Amount of Foreign Direct Investment Approved
Total Technical Financial (In Rs)
1 Drugs and Pharmaceuticals 19 10 9 218,633.62
2 Service Sector 174 10 164 182,751.41
3 Miscellaneous Industries 124 15 109 131,896.10
4 Fuels (Power & Oil Refinery) 140 98 42 126,751.88
5 Telecommunications 144 8 136 85,966.81
6 Transportation Industry 103 44 59 82,823.31
7 Electricals Equipment (Incl S/W &Elec) 92 13 79 31,861.42
8 Trading 135 1 134 21,148.67
9 Hotel & Tourism 88 61 27 19,609.94
10 Consultancy Services 56 6 50 10,680.98
11 Defence Industries 6 0 6 5,822.79
12 Metallurgical Industries 26 13 13 5,365.02
13 Vegetable Oils and Vanaspati 3 0 3 4,525.45
14 Chemicals (Other Than Fertilizers) 46 29 17 3,358.10
15 Industrial Machinery 12 5 7 2,806.10
16 Food Processing Industries 12 2 10 2,187.33
17 Rubber Goods 6 3 3 1,067.96
18 Miscellaneous Mechanical & Engineering 17 7 10 1,021.55
19 Timber Products 2 0 2 582.00
20 Cement and Gypsum Products 1 0 1 562.10
21 Textiles (Includ Dyed, Printed) 11 0 11 519.94
22 Commercial, Office & Household Equipment 3 0 3 211.00
23 Medical And Surgical Appliances 7 1 6 197.74
24 Soaps, Cosmetics and Toilet Preparations 4 0 4 66.60
25 Earth-Moving Machinery 2 0 2 58.90
26 Sugar 2 0 2 51.50
27 Machine Tools 4 2 2 50.00
28 Photographic Raw Film and Paper 1 0 1 35.50
29 Dye-Stuffs 2 1 1 28.90
30 Ceramics 1 0 1 10.67
31 Paper and Pulp Including Paper Product 1 0 1 2.40
32 Fermentation Industries 2 0 2 0.00
33 Glass 2 1 1 0.00
34 Boilers and Steam Generating Plants 6 6 0 0.00
35 Industrial Instruments 2 1 1 0.00
36 Fertilizers 1 1 0 0.00
37 Leather, Leather Goods and Pickers 3 3 0 0.00
Grand Total 1260 341 919 940,655.70

This information was given by the Minister of State for Communications & Information Technology, Shri Gurudas Kamat in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha