4 hours Ago By Moneycontrol
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) is likely to expand the ambit of its newly launched private sector capex intentions survey, as it has seen a strong response from enterprises who are willing to share their investment intentions. According to senior ministry officials, MoSPI shall enlarge the sample size for its upcoming surveys to over 7,000 enterprises, higher than 5,380 at present. “We’ve been able to convince enterprises to share data (on capital expenditure intentions) with us.
..we’re targeting over 7,000 enterprises for our next survey, after the success of the recent one,” the official told Moneycontrol.
On April 29, MoSPI released its first ever ‘Forward-Looking Survey on Private Sector CAPEX Investment Intentions’. The data revealed capex from private sector is expected to taper off in the current fiscal to Rs 4.9 lakh crore as compared to Rs 6.
6 lakh crore in FY25, but will still remain higher than levels witnessed between FY22 and FY23. The ministry’s sample size for the forward-looking survey was 5,380 enterprises. However, this is significantly lower than 16,025 enterprises, the ministry had originally selected for the capex survey.
“Since, this was the first exercise, we weren’t able to reach out to most enterprises...
but from the next one onwards, likely to take place in October-December, we’ll tap in more enterprises,” another official said. For the recent capex survey, MoSPI had selected enterprises registered with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), filtered based on annual turnover thresholds achieved in at least one of the last three financial years. It had selected manufacturing enterprises with an annual turnover of ₹400 crore or more for the survey; trade enterprises with an annual turnover of ₹300 crore or more; and other enterprises with an annual turnover of ₹100 crore or more.
In 2022–23, the Parliamentary Standing Committee had recommended MoSPI to develop a comprehensive methodology to capture capital expenditure data from the private sector. Survey instruments designed to capture data on past investments, projected capex for the next two years, and the breakdown of investments by asset type were developed in alignment with the specifications of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance, an official release said. In its first edition of the survey—conducted between November 2024 to January 2025--industry participation varied, with an overall response rate of 58.
3%. Respondents appeared cautious in disclosing capex plans, often pending management approvals, said the release. “Certain entities, such as Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) involved in infrastructure projects, were excluded from the survey frame as they report no turnover despite high capex.
Meanwhile, some included SPVs had no future investment plans due to project completion,” it said. Capex plays a crucial role in contributing to national investment and enhancing the stock of physical assets within the economy. It leads to the creation of long-term assets, which not only generate revenue for many years but also improve the overall operational efficiency of economic activities.
Comprehensive data on capex will be a valuable asset for a wide range of stakeholders, including government departments, private enterprises, trade associations, researchers, and other relevant entities, said the release. “It will enable evidence-based policy formulation through the analysis of trends in future investments. Furthermore, a clear understanding of capex patterns and scale can assist enterprises in making strategic, data-driven investment decisions, guided by the insights derived from survey findings,” it added.
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