If the present status of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is any indication of impending growth, Reliance Industries is the one leading FDI success charts.

HAVING SIGNED the much proclaimed deal with UK based energy giant BP Plc, Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is certainly catering to India’s FDI kitty with its many prolific global partnerships and deals.

FDI into the country leveled at $ 5.65 billion earlier this June as against $ 1.38 billion previous year. There has been a sharp rise in FDI inflows in the recent times as a result of several major projects now finally materializing; for the most part that is. Being one of the largest and the most significant deals to be signed in the energy sector, the RIL-BP deal could translate into additional inflows on account of proposed investment it will bring in.

The $7 billion deal, signed earlier this February, will see BP stake a 30 per cent share in 23 of RIL’s oil and gas acreages, including the much acclaimed gas block KG-D6.

The formation of a 50:50 joint venture between the two companies for the sourcing and marketing of gas in India will be preceded by establishment of infrastructure for receiving, transporting and marketing of natural gas in India. Spanning the length of over 270,000 square kilometers, the deal covering 23 oil and gas blocks will make the partnership India’s largest private sector holder of exploration acreage. While Reliance will look to benefit from BP’s technical assistance, BP will mark its first step into one of world’s most energy rich economies.

As per government reports, FDI inflow during April-June 2011 more than doubled to $ 13.44 billion from $ 5.77 billion in the first quarter of the previous fiscal year. With an increase of 57 per cent in the first six months of 2011, growing FDI influx is an optimistic sign for a government that is facing a probable instability in economic structure.