Private equity (PE) investments clocked $2.8 billion in the first quarter of the current financial year, an increase of 50% compared to the corresponding period in 2007-08. This is even as the PE deal activity in terms of number of deals have gone up only marginally. The biggest investment this year has been made by Aditya Birla Telecom, a subsidiary of mobile telephone services provider Idea Cellular, which raised $640 million from Providence Equity Partners. The first three months of FY’09 has registered 77 deals as against last year when 74 deals worth $1.9 billion were signed during the first quarter, according to Venture Intelligence which tracks private equity and venture capital sector in India. Telecom, infrastructure, power and healthcare sectors have seen the most number of deals last quarter besides attracting the big-ticket investments. These sectors attracted large number of deals at a time when funds have been wary of investing as the global economy is expected to slow down and there is a sharp correction in corporate valuations across sectors.   more »