Large private companies see no growth in capex in FY27, shows government survey
According to the statistics ministry, enterprises “generally tend to adopt a conservative approach in reporting such estimates for a future year”.
India’s large private sector companies don’t intend to invest more in 2026-27 compared to the current financial year, according to a new survey by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI). This raises doubts over the status of the private capex cycle at a time of heightened global uncertainty due to the tariffs imposed by the US as well as the war in West Asia.
According to the statistics ministry’s latest private sector capex survey, conducted in the last three months of 2025 and made public on Monday, large private sector companies intend to invest Rs 9.55 lakh crore in 2026-27, 16% lower than the estimate of Rs 11.44 crore in 2025-26. The figures for 2025-26 are based on responses from 5,366 companies, of which 4,203 – or 78.3% – reported their capex intentions for the next financial year, with MoSPI saying that enterprises “generally tend to adopt a conservative approach in reporting such estimates for a future year”.
Meanwhile, 3,819 enterprises provided their capex figures for the previous, current, and next financial year to MoSPI, which showed that while the intended capex of these companies in 2025-26 rose 1.8% from 2024-25 to Rs 6.11 lakh crore, they don’t intend to invest a higher number in 2026-27.
Interestingly, the 1,428 manufacturing companies that are part of this common pool intend to cut down on their capex by 8% in 2026-27 to Rs 2.73 lakh crore.
While the Indian economy has recorded high rates of GDP growth since the end of the coronavirus pandemic, economists have warned that trends for private investment – seen as a driver of sustained economic growth – are not encouraging. According to latest data, India is set to record real GDP growth of 7.6% in 2025-26, up from 7.1% in 2024-25 and 7.2% in 2023-24.
At the same time, Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) – a proxy for investments – is estimated to have increased by 9.4%, 8.9%, and 8.7% in current prices, or without adjusting for inflation, over the three years starting 2023-24. But this has been on the back of robust growth in public investments. The Centre’s capex, for instance, rose by 28% in 2023-24 and 11% in 2024-25. It is expected to rise 4% in 2025-26.
MoSPI In its private capex survey report cautioned that while most enterprises provided information on their capex plans, the investment intentions may be subject to revision in some cases as final approvals may still be pending. Such changes, MoSPI said, could occur due to internal adjustments or external factors “such as shifts in domestic or global demand”.
The statistics ministry further said that the results of the survey should not be interpreted as representative of the entire private sector as it only included only large companies. The minimum annual turnover criteria to be part of the survey was Rs 400 crore for manufacturing companies, Rs 300 crore for trade enterprises, and Rs 100 crore for other enterprises.
“It may also be noted that a new survey based on self-compilation generally requires some time to attain consistency in reporting and response behaviour,” MoSPI added.
This is the second private capex survey conducted by MoSPI, with companies submitting their responses through a dedicated web portal.
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India’s large private sector companies don’t intend to invest more in 2026-27 compared to the current financial year, according to a new survey by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI). This raises doubts over the status of the private capex cycle at a time of heightened global uncertainty due to the tariffs imposed by the US as well as the war in West Asia.
According to the statistics ministry’s latest private sector capex survey, conducted in the last three months of 2025 and made public on Monday, large private sector companies intend to invest Rs 9.55 lakh crore in 2026-27, 16% lower than the estimate of Rs 11.44 crore in 2025-26. The figures for 2025-26 are based on responses from 5,366 companies, of which 4,203 – or 78.3% – reported their capex intentions for the next financial year, with MoSPI saying that enterprises “generally tend to adopt a conservative approach in reporting such estimates for a future year”.
Meanwhile, 3,819 enterprises provided their capex figures for the previous, current, and next financial year to MoSPI, which showed that while the intended capex of these companies in 2025-26 rose 1.8% from 2024-25 to Rs 6.11 lakh crore, they don’t intend to invest a higher number in 2026-27.
Interestingly, the 1,428 manufacturing companies that are part of this common pool intend to cut down on their capex by 8% in 2026-27 to Rs 2.73 lakh crore.
While the Indian economy has recorded high rates of GDP growth since the end of the coronavirus pandemic, economists have warned that trends for private investment – seen as a driver of sustained economic growth – are not encouraging. According to latest data, India is set to record real GDP growth of 7.6% in 2025-26, up from 7.1% in 2024-25 and 7.2% in 2023-24.
At the same time, Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) – a proxy for investments – is estimated to have increased by 9.4%, 8.9%, and 8.7% in current prices, or without adjusting for inflation, over the three years starting 2023-24. But this has been on the back of robust growth in public investments. The Centre’s capex, for instance, rose by 28% in 2023-24 and 11% in 2024-25. It is expected to rise 4% in 2025-26.
MoSPI In its private capex survey report cautioned that while most enterprises provided information on their capex plans, the investment intentions may be subject to revision in some cases as final approvals may still be pending. Such changes, MoSPI said, could occur due to internal adjustments or external factors “such as shifts in domestic or global demand”.
The statistics ministry further said that the results of the survey should not be interpreted as representative of the entire private sector as it only included only large companies. The minimum annual turnover criteria to be part of the survey was Rs 400 crore for manufacturing companies, Rs 300 crore for trade enterprises, and Rs 100 crore for other enterprises.
“It may also be noted that a new survey based on self-compilation generally requires some time to attain consistency in reporting and response behaviour,” MoSPI added.
This is the second private capex survey conducted by MoSPI, with companies submitting their responses through a dedicated web portal.
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