Almost three-fourths of the companies involved in an industry survey have stated that the current economic conditions are conducive to private investment.
As quoted by Business Standard, Chandrajit Banerjee, Director CII Survey Predicts Booming Future For Private Investments – Details Insidector General of CII said that “With the two critical drivers of growth — private investments and employment — looking positive, we feel confident that the overall growth is likely to remain around 6.4-6.7% this year. It may be 7% in FY26.”
Interim findings from the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) survey on investment, jobs, and wages show that more than 97% of firms plan to expand their workforce in FY25 and FY26.
Recent advance growth estimates from the National Statistics Office (NSO) projected a 6.4% increase in gross fixed capital formation (investment demand) for FY25, which matches the growth seen in the first half of the year. This suggests that private investment has not yet seen significant growth. The advance estimates forecast India’s GDP to grow by 6.4% in FY25, which is lower than the RBI’s projection of 6.6% and the finance ministry’s expectation of 6.5% growth.
The pan-India survey, which includes 500 firms of various sizes (large, medium, and small) from across all states, will be completed by the first week of February. The interim results are based on responses from 300 firms. Manufacturing and mining firms made up 68% of the sample. About 90% of the surveyed companies reported having made investments in the past 18 months, in varying amounts.
More than half of the firms (59%) said they plan to invest in the second half of FY25, while 70% indicated they would invest in FY26. “Given that 70% of firms surveyed said they would invest in FY26, an uptick in private investment might be on the cards over the next few quarters,” Banerjee noted.
Among those planning to increase investments in H2 of FY25, 45% intend to raise their investments by 0-10%, while 39% plan to boost their investments by 11-20%. Approximately 79% of firms reported an increase in hiring activity over the last three years.
While 2-3% of firms foresee a decline in employment in FY25 and FY26, the majority expect employment to rise in varying degrees. Between 42% and 46% of firms expect a 10-20% increase in employment, while 31-36% anticipate an increase of up to 10%. The average increase in direct employment due to planned investments in the coming year is expected to range from 15-22% in the manufacturing and services sectors.
