India's Private Capex Jumps 67% to Rs 7.7 Lakh Crore; CII Unveils 5-Point Plan

In a press release on Sunday, the industry body released a five-point action agenda to support the economy through the ongoing West Asia crisis and beyond.

CII's analysis of nearly 1,200 companies from the CMIE Prowess database shows manufacturing led the capex push, accounting for Rs 3.8 lakh crore or nearly half of total private investment, with metals, automobiles and chemicals at the forefront. Services contributed Rs 3.1 lakh crore, about 40 per cent of the total, driven by trading, communications and IT/ITeS.

"The 67 per cent jump in private capex to Rs 7.7 lakh crore is, by some distance, the most important signal yet that India's investment cycle has decisively turned," said Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII. He noted that capacity utilisation has hardened to 75.6 per cent in Q3FY26 from 74.3 per cent in the previous quarter, while new order books grew 10.3 per cent year-on-year and bank credit growth averaged close to 14 per cent in the second half of FY26 against around 10 per cent in the first half.

CII's five-point agenda includes a phased drawdown of the Rs 10 per litre central excise cut on petrol and diesel over six to nine months as crude prices stabilise. "A calibrated phased restoration of the fuel excise will progressively relieve the exchequer of a very substantial burden without disrupting consumer sentiment, and industry is prepared to absorb a meaningful share of input cost pressures within its own margins," Banerjee said.

The second measure is a voluntary industry energy conservation compact, with member companies committing to a 3-5 per cent reduction in fuel and power consumption over the next two quarters. "Every barrel saved at the factory gate being a barrel less the country has to import," he added.

CII also proposed a 45-day MSME payment guarantee backed by TReDS and supply-chain finance to ease working capital pressure on small enterprises. Other steps include supply-chain ringfencing with deeper import substitution through diversified sourcing and domestic value addition in components, specialty chemicals and capital goods, as well as front-loading FY27 investments in manufacturing, energy transition and digital infrastructure, coupled with voluntary price restraint and a scale-up of internship intake under PMIS.

Banerjee credited the government for creating the enabling environment, citing sustained public capex, fiscal discipline, a modernised tax architecture, PLI schemes and FTAs covering nearly 70 per cent of global GDP. "Industry's task now is to convert this enabling environment into committed capacity, jobs, exports and value addition at scale," he said. CII expects real GDP growth to exceed 7.6 per cent in FY26, with exports touching an all-time high of $863 billion and forex reserves above $700 billion.

- ANI