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New project announcements by the Indian private sector surged to nearly a 15-year high in the first half of the ongoing financial year 2025-26, even as new government projects and those by foreign companies slumped during this period.
The value of new project announcements by governments in India — both Central and State — fell to at least a 15-year low in the first half of the current financial year, while those by foreign companies were at a five-year low.
An analysis by The Hindu of data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) shows that the private sector announced projects worth ₹9.95 lakh crore in the April-September 2025 period, up 30.4% over the first half of the previous financial year.
Of this, it was the Indian private sector that did the heavy lifting, accounting for 94% of the value of the new project announcements. The Indian private sector announced fresh projects worth ₹9.35 lakh crore in the first half of 2025-26, up 37.5% over the same period of 2024-25.
The value of new project announcements by the Indian private sector in the first half 2025-26 was the second highest in the same period of the last 15 years. The highest was in the first half of 2023-24, when it touched ₹9.54 lakh crore.
However, the data also showed that India’s attractiveness as an investment destination for foreign companies might be diminishing. New project announcements by foreign companies fell to about ₹0.6 lakh crore in the April-September 2025 period, down nearly 28% from the same period of last year.
This also marks the third consecutive year where foreign announcements have slumped in the first half of the year, and a five year low for the figure. New project announcements by foreign companies had risen to a peak of 1.9 lakh crore in the first six months of 2022-23 before declining subsequently.
The slump in new project announcements in India by foreign companies is not in line with global trends. Data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) shows that global foreign direct investment grew by 11% in 2024 over its level in 2023, which itself was 3% higher than in 2022.
New project announcements by governments — both Central and State — slumped to ₹1.51 lakh crore in the first six months of financial year 2025-26, down more than 71% over their level in the same period of the previous year. This level of investment intention was the lowest in at least 15 years, the period for which there is data.
Published – October 02, 2025 02:39 pm IST
