Registration of new companies grew 108% on year to 23,113 in September, which was the second-highest ever in absolute terms, and the highest annual increase in at least 60 months, as per official data.
The first half of FY26 witnessed a 38.4% jump in new company registrations, the highest in at least five years, going by the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) figures. April 2025 had seen all-time high registration of companies (23,776) in any month.
Officials said that the better-than-expected GDP growth in the first quarter of the current fiscal, a revival of consumption, especially in the rural sector , and vote of confidence on the Indian economy by various global rating agencies, including S&P have boosted investor confidence, and triggered incorporation of more companies.
The sources said a significant section of the newly registered companies are wholly owned or majority-owned subsidiaries of foreign firms, in sign that the current slowdown in foreign direct investments might get reversed over the medium term. In addition, the anticipation of a rise in domestic demand due to GST cuts must have played a key role in uplifting the sentiments of domestic investors.
In April-June period, the real GDP growth stood at 7.8%, its strongest pace in five quarters, and surpassed the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) 6.5% projection for the period. This prompted RBI to revise its GDP growth projection for the whole financial year (FY26) upwards to 6.8% from 6.5% earlier.
“The surge in new registrations is partly on account of the global investors reposing faith in the Indian economy. India is still doing better than other major economies. Many global investors who were in a ‘wait and watch’ mode have apparently decided to set up shop in India,” said Sandeep Jhunjhunwala, partner at Nangia Andersen LLP.
Recently, The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted that India will continue to be one of the fastest-growing ’emerging market and developing economies’. With 6.6% growth in FY26, India is expected to outpace China, which is likely to grow at 4.8% in the same period, IMF said.
To be sure, strong private investment translates into more capital available to create new businesses, especially startups and subsidiary companies.
As per MCA data, business services account for the highest number of active companies (26%) in the country followed by manufacturing (19%), community, personal and social services and trading (14% each).
There was a slight dip in the registrations of new limited liability partnerships (LLPs) during the second quarter of FY26 (22,221 registrations) as compared to the first quarter (23,013).
