Investment in India

Investment options in Indian energy sector

Energy plays a key factor in determining the economic development of all countries. The Indian energy sector has witnessed a rapid growth in order to meet the demands of a developing nation. Areas like resource exploration and exploitation, capacity additions, and energy sector reforms have been revolutionized.

Energy sector in India comprises of both non-renewable (coal, lignite, petroleum and natural gas) and renewable energy sources (wind, solar, small hydro, biomass, cogeneration bagasse etc.).

India has retained its position in top five world wind energy markets in 2012. The country remained the third largest market for new turbines in 2012 with capacity addition of 2,441 megawatt (MW), according to World Wind Energy Report 2012. World's wind turbine capacity addition grew at 19 per cent to 44,609 MW.

Major investments in Indian energy sector

The investment climate is very positive for investors in India. The power sector has witnessed a surge of higher investment flows than envisaged. The Ministry of Power has set a target for adding 76,000 MW of electricity capacity in the 12th Plan (2012-17) and 93,000 MW in the 13th Plan (2017-22).

Some of the major investments in the Indian energy sector:

• National Aluminium Company Ltd (Nalco) has set up its second wind power plant in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan with a capacity of 47.6 MW. The Rs 283 crore wind power project is being executed through Gamesa Wind Turbines Private Ltd
• Coal India Ltd (CIL) plans to invest Rs 340 crore to embark on the second round of exploration at Mozambique coal blocks
• Jakson Power Solutions has won two new orders for installing solar rooftop systems in Bengaluru and Pune. The first order is to set up the 80 kilowatt peak (KWp) solar rooftop unit with a facility of battery back-up at Karnataka State Disaster Management Centre, Bengaluru, said Mr Sundeep Gupta, Joint Managing Director, Jakson Power Solutions
• Vikram Solar plans to put up a 10 MW power plant at Tamil Nadu (TN) under the second phase of the state's solar policy
• Mytrah Energy Ltd plans to acquire 59.75 MW of existing operational wind power assets in Tamil Nadu (TN) and Maharashtra. The company expects to have a capacity of 370 MW against previously anticipated 334 MW by 2013 wind season

Government Initiatives to promote investments in the energy sector

The Government has initiated several policies to attract investors in India to invest in the Indian energy sector. To accelerate capacity addition, several policy initiatives have been undertaken by the Ministry of Power. The National Electricity Policy (NEP) in fact, stipulates power for all and annual per capita consumption of electricity to rise to 1,000 units by 2012.

Some of the major investments taken by the Government of India to garner investments in the energy sector are as follows:

• Foreign direct investments (FDI) up to 100 per cent is permitted under automatic route for projects of electricity generation (except atomic energy), transmission, distribution and power trading
• Under the Union Budget 2013-14, the Government of India has approved a scheme for the financial restructuring of DISCOMS to restore the health of the energy sector in India
• In a boost to power firms with plans to set up units in Special Economic Zones (SEZ), the Government has exempted them from the positive net foreign exchange (NFE) obligation applicable to regular units in such enclaves

Investments Opportunities in Indian Shipping Industry for NRIs

The Indian Shipping segment, with 187 minor ports and 13 major ports spread across nine maritime states, is poised to mark exponential growth in the years to come. The Government of India is geared to attract foreign investors in India by embarking on public-private partnership (PPP) route for modernisation and expansion of the Indian ports.

The total capacity of the port sector is envisaged to be 2,301.63 million tonnes (MT), to meet the overall projected traffic of 1,758.26 MT by 2016-17, as per the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) document. "The traffic forecast by the end of the 12th Plan would be 943.06 MT and 815.20 MT for the major and non-major ports respectively, with corresponding port capacities of 1,241.83 MT and 1,059.80 MT respectively," it added.

According to the Planning Commission, the capacity of Indian ports will have to nearly double to 2,302 MT over the next five years to be able to handle the fast growing cargo traffic.

The shipping industry of India has witnessed various deals and developments pertaining to foreign direct investment in India.

Indian Shipping Industry Goes Global

As the Government of India is determined to get Indian shipping industry at par with the global standards, it is in continuous discussions with foreign investors in India and across the world to achieve the growth targets.

The Ministry of Shipping expects that the bi-lateral co-operation would enable Indian organisations to acquire appropriate know-how, scientific knowledge and research and development (R&D) capabilities from the European country.

Moreover, India has recently shown interest to adopt new technology regarding decongestion of ports; information technology for the movement of container traffic and maritime training from Germany.

Investment Opportunities in Indian Shipping Industry

At the beginning of the financial year (2010-11), the Ministry of Shipping fixed a target of 21 projects under PPP for the major ports out of which two projects have been awarded so far at Tuticorin Port and Ennore Port.

The Government of India is focusing on port infrastructure development in the country and is promoting private participation and foreign direct investment in India. The Government has allowed 100 per cent foreign direct investments under the automatic route for:

• Leasing of existing assets of ports
• Construction/ creation and maintenance of assets such as-container terminals bulk/ break bulk/ multi-purpose and specialised cargo berths, warehousing, container freight stations, storage facilities and tank farms, cranage/ handling equipment, setting up of captive power plants, dry docking and ship repair facilities
• Leasing of equipment for port handling and leasing of floating crafts
• Captive facilities for port based industries

Investment Policy Updates

According to a Ministry of Shipping's press communication a new programme - Perspective 2020 - will replace the existing NMDP plan. The Maritime Agenda 2010-2020 is a perspective plan of the Shipping Ministry for the present decade which has set the goals as follows:

• To create a port capacity of around 3,200 MT to handle the expected traffic of about 2,500 MT by 2020
• To bring ports at par with the best international ports in terms of performance and capacity
• To increase the tonnage under the Indian flag and Indian control and also the share of Indian ships in our EXIM trade
• To promote coastal shipping as it will help in decongesting our roads and is environment friendly

Opportunities for foreign investors in India

Indian markets, across all industries, are considered as viable long-term investment options as the country stands strong amid global financial turmoil. India is considered to be the third most favoured destination for investment after China and the US for major global companies, according to UNCTAD's World Investment Report 2012. The report anticipates that foreign investments in India could increase by over 20 per cent in 2012-13.

Foreign Direct Investments in India

In recent years, bulk of the foreign direct investments in Indian business sectors of infrastructure, telecommunication, information technology, computer hardware and software, and hospitality services, have been made by investors of countries like US, UK, Mauritius, Singapore, and many others.

The foreign direct investment in India can easily be made in a variety of ways, through the Governmental and automatic routes. However, the joint ventures (JV) are the most popular and preferred forms of making investment in Indian industry.

The Government has recently cleared 14 foreign direct investment proposals worth Rs 113.35 crore based on the recommendations of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). Major proposals include an equity increase of Rs 68.22 crore by the UK-based Dashtag to conduct business of pharmaceuticals specialising in dermatology, anti-histamines, antibiotics and oncology products.

Some of the major foreign direct investments in India are:

• Japanese auto major Nissan intends to introduce 10 new passenger car models by the end of March 2016 in a bid to boost its volumes in India. The company also aims to double its vehicle sales in 2012-13
• United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), Austria has appointed Ramky Enviro Engineers Limited (REEL) as its strategic partner to work on a project for the Bhilai Steel plant
• Mahindra Finance's subsidiary Mahindra Insurance Brokers (MIBL) has formed a venture with LeapFrog Investments wherein the latter's subsidiary, Inclusion Resources Singapore, would infuse Rs 80.41 crore for a 15 per cent stake in MIBL

Major reforms in foreign direct investments in India

The Government of India has given its nod to 51 per cent foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail. The decision will pave way for retail giants like Walmart, Tesco and IKEA to enter into Indian market and make footprints in the US$ 450 billion retail industry. Moreover, the Government has relaxed sourcing norms for single-brand retailers and has permitted them to buy at least 30 per cent of the goods from Indian industry, rather than particularly from Indian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as per earlier stipulation.

In case of civil aviation, the Government has allowed foreign carriers to buy up to 49 per cent stake in their Indian counterparts.

Further, to sustain the momentum of the above stated reforms, the Government would take more decisions to create investment options for overseas investors. The measures being considered include raising the ceiling for foreign borrowings, easing curbs on portfolio investors, and liberalising norms for overseas borrowings.

Future of foreign investment in India

With the Government of India laying intense focus on increasing the country's share in the global FDI space from 1.3 per cent in 2007 to 5 per cent by 2017 by relaxing and un-complicating the FDI norms, it is expected that foreign majors would invest aggressively in the flourishing Indian markets.

Scope of Investment Environment in India

India is in the middle of fast economic and social conversion and it provides a constant, flourishing platform for businesses to grow. It also provides rich investment opportunities to non-resident Indians (NRIs). It is one of the quickest, easiest and successful cost-effective commitment locations to set up a company. In fact, India is the second-most successful location, according to UNCTAD's World Investment Leads Study 2010-2012.

Foreign Investments in India

Indian equities have attracted maximum investments by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) as compared to any other Asian market on the back of policy reforms undertaken by the Government of India to promote economic growth. Foreign investors in India remain substantially strong and have invested over US$ 13 billion into Indian stocks till September 2012. Some of the key investments and developments are:

• Overseas investors infused about US$ 645 million from October 1, 2012 to October 5, 2012 itself, while they invested more than US$ 3.5 billion in the month of September 2012, according to data released by capital market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)
• FIIs also infused Rs 1,382 crore (US$ 260.47 million) in the debt market in the first week of October 2012
• As on October 5, 2012, the number of registered FIIs in the country stood at 1,753 while, the total number of sub-accounts were 6,329
• Another statement issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) revealed that foreign exchange reserves stood at US$ 294.81 billion for the week ended September 28, 2012 wherein the value of gold reserves was recorded at US$ 28.133 billion and that of foreign currency assets (FCAs) was at US$ 259.96 billion

The Center for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) projects that FII inflows would strengthen in the second half of FY13 at US$ 11.2 billion as India is looked upon as a viable long-term investment destination on the global canvas. Major FIIs like JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank are believed to drive the positive wave of foreign investments.

Government Initiatives

The Government of India is playing a vital role in attracting and providing an investment friendly climate to foreign investors in India. The policies have been liberalised to entice more and more cost-effective commitment methods. Some of them are as follows:

• The Government has created many policies and schemes to maximize investment opportunities for NRIs in the real estate sector of India
• RBI has allowed, both people residing outside India holding Indian passports and also person of Indian origin (PIO) to invest in residential as well as commercial properties in India
• RBI has granted general permission to NRIs/PIOs, for undertaking direct investments in Indian companies, under the automatic route purchase of shares
• NRIs/PIOs are permitted to invest in the foreign direct investment (FDI) scheme on a repatriation basis in equity shares/ Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares (CCPS)/ Compulsorily Convertible Debentures (CCDs) of an Indian company

Government’s involvement on policies, especially, tax rules and foreign direct investment (FDI) in areas like retail, aviation etc. will play an important part in driving large deals. India’s development tale continues to be unchanged and NRIs/PIOs can look ahead to see better financial commitment options in second half of 2012.

Investment Prospects for NRI’s in India

India is considered to be the second favourite destination for investors from other countries. India's unique and vast geography, endowed with diverse topography, has made it one of the most attractive investment destinations in the world.

The healthy growth of the Indian economy also becomes evident from the inflow of the foreign direct investment (FDI). Investment opportunities in India are plentiful. It becomes evident with the numerous MNC's not only trailing their products and services into the Indian markets but also coming forward to set up their manufacturing units in India.

The vast investment opportunities available and the positive investment climate in India have become a part of every business entrepreneur’s life. The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs has set up an Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre (OIFC) as a not-for-profit-trust, in partnership with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to promote investment opportunities amongst the overseas Indians.

Some of the fruitful investment options in India are:

Fixed deposits: It is the most common among the investment opportunities in India. These are safe investments and provide decent return.

Insurance sector: There are a lot of insurance companies emerging these days as the health is becoming less secured because of the unhealthy life style of present generation. Some of the common insurance policies are life insurance, health insurance, home insurance and the car insurance policies.

Investment in Stock: The investment in stock market in India is one of the fastest means of earning. As the stock prices are always fluctuating, the chances of risk are also high along with high profits.

Mutual Funds: It is a collective investment scheme that pools money from many investors or foreign investors in India to purchase securities such as stocks, bonds, money market instruments and similar assets. It is an easy and safe investment with periodic withdrawals.

Real Estate: The population in India is increasing and therefore land is always in demand. Besides the need to reside, the establishment of industries also requires land. The projection of real estate includes sectors such as hospitality, manufacturing, housing, retail, commercial etc. Thus it is obvious that the cost of real estate is not going to fall down. Thus the investment opportunities in India are high and by investing in a land and selling it on demand by others is an easy source to earn money.

Also, there are many other exciting business investment opportunities in India, especially, for industrialists dealing in outsourcing technology, internet ventures, software development, e-commerce, etc.

The Government of India is trying to accommodate and utilise the conducive investment climate of the country by relaxing and even introducing new policies. The change in government policy, availability of cheap resources, strong operational units, etc. are the important reasons for FDI in India. It is important for foreign investors in India to have some trend analysis of investment scope before they plan to start or set up a business in India, thus the role of investment advisors to prepare extensive investment guides to help and direct the trade investments and the scope of foraying into a particular business in India becomes crucial.