Manufacturing drives India’s private capex surge as investments jump 67%

New Delhi: India’s private capital expenditure surged by a healthy 67 per cent to Rs 7.7 lakh crore in September 2025 from Rs 4.6 lakh crore in September 2024.

The data, released by industry body, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), is based on the analysis of nearly 1,200 companies, drawn from the CMIE Prowess database.

The CII’s analysis shows that the manufacturing led the way, accounting for Rs 3.8 lakh crore or nearly half of total private capex, with metals, automobiles and chemicals at the forefront.

While services contributed Rs 3.1 lakh crore, or about 40 per cent, driven by trading, communications and IT/ITeS.

Complementary indicators reinforce the trend. Capacity utilisation of manufacturing firms rose 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. Bank credit growth has rebounded sharply, averaging close to 14 per cent in the second half of FY26 against around 10 per cent in the first half.

“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.

“With capacity utilisation hardening to 75.6 per cent, order books expanding at over 10 per cent year-on-year and bank credit growth close to 14 per cent in the second half of FY26, private enterprise is committing capital at scale, and across sectors, in a manner not seen in well over a decade,” said Banerjee.

The surge in private capital expenditure is the most decisive evidence of a powerful and broad-based revival in the country’s investment cycle.

The private capital expenditure commonly known as the Capex in short is the investment pumped in by private sector companies for purchasing, upgrading, or maintaining long-term physical assets such as new plants, machinery, land, and technology. The private Capex helps companies to expand their operations and generate future revenue.

Current status of private Capex

Earlier, the National Statistics Office (NSO) conducted the Forward-Looking Survey on Private Corporate Sector CAPEX Investment Intentions during October–December, 2025 to collect information on the capital expenditure plans of enterprises in the private corporate sector.

According to the NSO, the estimated CAPEX per enterprise for the financial year (2024-25) was Rs 180.2 crore and the actual CAPEX is estimated at Rs 173.5 crore respectively, resulting in an overall realisation ratio of 96.3 per cent.

This high realisation ratio shows that that actual expenditure was broadly in line with the investment intentions of enterprises. Meanwhile, the estimated aggregated provisional CAPEX for 2025-26 is Rs 11,43,879 crore.

For the next financial year, based on the responses received, the aggregated CAPEX intentions for 2026–27 are estimated at Rs 9,55,281 crore. It may be noted that out of the 5,366 operational enterprises that responded to the survey, 4,203 (about 78.3 per cent) reported their CAPEX investment plans for the next financial year (2026–27).

Enterprises generally tend to adopt a conservative approach in reporting such estimates for a future year.

Comprehensive information on CAPEX is valuable for a wide range of stakeholders, including government agencies, private sector enterprises, industry bodies, researchers, and other relevant organizations.

Such information helps in understanding emerging investment trends and supports evidence-based policymaking. At the same time, insights on CAPEX patterns and their magnitude can assist enterprises in making informed and strategic investment decisions based on the findings of the survey.

Ends.