India’s private corporate sector reported a pick-up in capital expenditure (capex) in the current financial year, but investment plans signal a noticeable moderation heading into FY27, according to the latest forward-looking survey released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) on Monday.

The companies surveyed estimated provisional aggregate capex on new assets at Rs 11.44 lakh crore for FY26. However, forward intentions for FY27 dropped to Rs 9.55 lakh crore, reflecting a 16.5% decline in planned spending.

According to the survey, the sectoral trends reveal uneven patterns in investment priorities. Manufacturing continues to dominate as the top recipient of private capex but sees its share decline from 50.17% in FY26 to 44.35% in FY27. The information and communication (encompassing data centres, telecom, and digital infrastructure) see a mild slowdown, with its share likely easing from 16.38% in FY26 to 14.38% in FY27.

In contrast, the electricity, gas, steam, and air-conditioning supply sector shows a sharp uptick, with its share rising from 8.96% in FY26 to 14.94% in FY27, indicating stronger focus on energy-related investments.

A fixed panel of 3,819 enterprises reported provisional unweighted capex of Rs 6.11 lakh crore for FY26 and intended Rs 6.11 lakh crore for FY27, showing only a modest 1.9% increase over actual spending of Rs 6 lakh crore in FY25. Weighted estimates align with the broader figures of Rs 11.44 lakh crore for FY26 and Rs 9.55 lakh crore for FY27.

The survey also provides insights into investment focus. In FY26, around 48.63% of enterprises directed spending toward core assets, while 38.36% aimed at value addition to existing ones. Additionally, 60.13% prioritized income generation, and 42.12% focused on upgrading capacity.

“It may be noted that out of the 5,366 operational enterprises that responded to the survey, 4,203 (about 78.3%) 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,” the NSO said.