



Capex concentration: Why ₹10 trillion in new projects doesn't signal a broader revival
The animal spirits seem to be stirring, but the scoreboard tells a mixed story. New project announcements rose nearly 16% sequentially in the October-December quarter (Q3 FY26), almost doubling the momentum seen in the previous three months.
Yet, investment activity contracted year-on-year for the second straight quarter, weighed down by persistently weak government capital expenditure and modest private sector participation.According to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy's (CMIE) project-tracking database, new projects worth ₹10 trillion were announced in Q3 FY26, down from ₹10.5 trillion in the same quarter a year ago. However, announcements saw a steady quarterly progression within FY26, climbing from ₹8 trillion in Q1 to ₹8.6 trillion in Q2 and ₹10 trillion in Q3, largely on the back of private investment as government capex remained subdued.
The data is provisional and may be updated later.Private sector investment fueled 92% of the quarter's headline growth, contributing ₹9.2 trillion in commitments. This stands in sharp relief to the government’s capex, which failed to grow between Q2 and Q3 after contracting from Q1 to Q2.Sectoral trends underscored the narrowness of the recovery.
Investment proposals in the manufacturing segment fell sharply to ₹4.1 trillion in Q3 FY26 from ₹6 trillion in the previous quarter and ₹5.2 trillion a year earlier. The decline persisted despite ongoing production-linked incentive (PLI) support, reinforcing the sector’s loss of momentum.On the other hand, new investment in electricity rebounded to ₹2.4 trillion in Q3 FY26 from ₹0.9 trillion in the previous quarter, while in services (excluding financials) capex intentions surged to ₹3.2 trillion from ₹1.2 trillion.
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