New Delhi, April 24 Despite the global slowdown and recession in Europe and the US, India expects at least $40 billion as foreign direct investment (FDI) in the current fiscal, a senior industry ministry official said here on Friday.

"The overall outlook for foreign investment is positive. The FDI for fiscal 2008-09 was around $37.5 billion and it will be around around $40 billion this fiscal," Gopal Krishna, joint secretary at the Department of Industrial Promotion Policy, said.

Even though the economic growth is slow this year, Indian share in the global FDI has increased from 0.5 percent to 2 percent. "The outlook about India is very positive," Krishna told reporters on the sidelines of a business meet.

His claim was supported by an industry survey, carried out jointly by Booz and Co and American Chamber of Commerce.

According to the study released here on Friday, 70 percent of the US companies said their FDI plans were still intact even in the wake of the slowdown and about 80 percent said India would continue to remain an attractive destination for investments for the next five years.

"The FDI in India is driven by the local market demand," the report said.