Private equity investments in India doubled in the first month of this year, as deals worth over $386 million were announced  against $191 million in January 2009.

The deal volume, however, was virtually unchanged with 25 deals recorded past month, one less than what was registered in the same month last year.

Going forward, there will be reduced valuations and more deals. And there would be a flight for quality, as competition to invest in high-quality portfolio companies rise.

A sector-wise analysis shows that infrastructure, real estate and telecom were the most-targeted sectors for investment with deals worth $61 million, $59 million and $58 million, respectively. Together, they accounted for more than 45% of total private equity deal value during the month.

Meanwhile, in terms of deal volume the most active sector was IT/IT Services with five deals in the month, followed by telecom with three deals. Other sectors contributing to the deal volume were real estate, hospitality and Infrastructure accounting for 2 deals each.