Indian stock-index futures gained after the government issued an executive order making it easier for companies to buy land.

SGX CNX Nifty Index (NIFTY) futures for January delivery rose as much as 0.5 percent to 8,360.5 and traded at 8,330 at 10:08 a.m. in Singapore. The underlying CNX Nifty Index advanced 0.6 percent to 8,246.30 yesterday. The S&P BSE Sensex (SENSEX) also climbed 0.6 percent to 27,395.73. The Bank of New York Mellon India ADR Index of U.S.-traded shares added 0.3 percent.

The new order is designed to spur rural infrastructure development by exempting at least five categories of land acquisition from rules that require the consent of at least 70 percent of potential sellers. More than 1 trillion rupees ($ 15.7 billion) of projects are stalled because of the current regulations, including 600 billion rupees of roads.

“With the ordinance, the government has signaled its intent for economic reforms,” Arun Kejriwal, a director at Kejriwal Research & Investment Pvt, said by phone today. “The prime minister has shown that he’s serious about boosting growth. The selling by foreign funds has stopped and should be an added boost to the markets today.”

International investors were net buyers of $ 65.9 million of Indian stocks on Dec. 26, the first net inflow in 13 days. That extended this year’s purchases to $ 16.1 billion, the second highest among eight Asian markets tracked by Bloomberg, after Japan.

The Sensex has advanced 29 percent this year, on course for its best annual performance since 2009. The gauge is valued at 15.1 times projected 12-month earnings. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index trades at a multiple of 11.2.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rajhkumar K Shaaw in Mumbai at rshaaw@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael Patterson at mpatterson10@bloomberg.net Matthew Oakley, Phani Varahabhotla