Budget 2024 Emphasis On Bilateral Investment Treaties Globally
India is negotiating bilateral investment treaties with different countries with a view to promote foreign inflows, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said while presenting the interim Budget 2024-25.. She said that foreign direct investment (FDI) has doubled during 2014-23 to USD 596 billion compared to the inflow received during 2005-14. India is negotiating this treaty with countries such as the UK. These investment treaties help in promoting and protecting investments in each other's countries. These pacts are important as India has earlier lost two international arbitration cases against British telecom giant Vodafone and Cairn Energy plc of the UK over the retrospective levy of taxes. Foreign direct investment (FDI) equity inflows in India declined 24 per cent to USD 20.48 billion in April-September 2023, according to government data. The total FDI -- which includes equity inflows, reinvested earnings and other capital -- contracted 15.5 per cent to USD 32.9 billion during the period under review against USD 38.94 billion in April-June 2022. The top investor countries include Singapore, Mauritius, the US, the UK, and the UAE. Computer software and hardware, trading, services, telecommunication, automobile, pharma and chemicals are some of the key sectors that attract FDI into India.
Tags : bilateral investment treaties Singapore Mauritius US UK UAE trading services telecommunication automobile pharma chemicals