Overseas direct investment by Indian companies or entities in September 2011 was 51 per cent higher at $3.46 billion against $2.28 billion in the preceding month, according to the Reserve Bank of India's data on outward FDI.

In the first six months of the current financial year, outward investment by India companies or entities was at $19 billion. In 2010-11, outward investment by India companies or entities was at $44 billion.

The RBI has been putting on its Web site, on a monthly basis from July 2011, the outflows on account of ODI — equity, loans, and guarantees — by Indian companies or entities .

Among the companies that made big outward investments in September are GVK Power and Infrastructure Ltd (invested $1.413 billion in GVK Coal Developers {Singapore} Pte Ltd); ETHL Communications Holdings (pumped $777 million into wholly-owned subsidiary ETHL Communications Mauritius Ltd); Tata Steel (invested $173.55 million in Singapore-based wholly-owned subsidiary Tata Steel Asia Holdings Pte Ltd).