Private capex tumbles for second straight qtr in Q3

Fresh projects by ownership in Q3FY26

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While the overall quarter-on-quarter uptick in project investments comes after a sharp 20.8 per cent decline during Q2FY26 over Q1, the downturn in new private capex plans over the last two quarters followed four successive quarters of sequential growth between Q2 of FY25 and Q1 of FY26.

New government investment projects rose 26.5 per cent quarter-on-quarter to hit %5.64 trillion in Q3, lifting the public sector’s share of new proposals to nearly 36 percent from under 30 per cent in Q2. Within the public sector, central government outlays jumped 39.51 percent to ₹2.89 trillion, driven by larger ticket-size announcements where average project values rose from ₹321 crore per project to %438 crore per project. State government agencies also accelerated new capex plans by 15.28 percent to over ₹2.75 trillion in Q3.

Fresh investment intentions in the private sector fell 4.61 per cent quarter-on-quarter in Q3, on top of a 21.83 per cent sequential contraction in Q2. However, domestic investors stepped back at a greater pace, as commitments by private Indian companies dropped 15.6 per cent to %7.76 trillion, shrinking their share of overall fresh investments to 49.4 percent from 61.2 percent in Q2. The value of fresh private outlays decreased to %10.06 trillion, with the number of new private projects dipping 2.3 per cent to 1,757. Foreign investors, however, stepped in at the top end with their fresh investment surging 69.3 per cent to %. 2.3, trillion despite reliance on few mega AI and energy projects, partly cushioning the broader private slowdown.