The month of January 2025, saw the announcement of a record number of new projects recently. According to ProjectsToday, a total of 1,687 projects were announced, involving a total investment of Rs 4,52,148 crore. This marks a significant increase in the number of projects compared to December 2024, which saw the announcement of 1,358 projects worth Rs 4,57,657 crore. However, despite the increase in the number of projects, the total investment amount showed a slight decline of 1.2 percent. The fall was mainly because of the slowdown witnessed in the private fresh investment.
In January 2025, the Infrastructure sector, buoyed by both central and state government capex plans, emerged as the leading sector in terms of both the number of projects and investments. This sector attracted Rs 1,97,974.04 crore across 1,337 projects, accounting for 43.79 percent of the total investment. This was followed by the Manufacturing and the Electricity Sectors.
The Manufacturing sector followed with Rs 1,44,895 crore across 160 projects, contributing 32.05 percent to the overall investment. Within the Manufacturing sector, sub-sectors like Cement, Steel, Machinery, Automobiles and Hydrogen gases attracted sizeable fresh investment proposals.
In the Cement sector, Ambuja Concrete North and ACC of the Adani group announced a combined investment of Rs 7,205 crore for adding 21.5 mln. tpa of cement capacity. India Cement plans to expand its capacity by 5 mln. tpa at Rs 550 crore. In the Steel sector, Visvesvaraya Iron & Steel and Steel Authority of India committed a total investment of Rs 21,000 crore to expand their capacities.
The Machinery sector attracted the highest investment of Rs 72,331 crore. Notable projects include Vardhaan Lithium’s Rs 42,535 crore Lithium Refinery & Battery project. Other notable projects include JSW Renewable Technologies’ Rs 10,100 crore Solar Ingots project and Sangam Solar One’s Rs 8,000 crore investment in solar technology. All three projects are going to come up at Butibori in Nagpur district of Maharashtra.
The Automobile sector, which had experienced declining investments in recent times, showed signs of recovery. Companies such as Blue Energy Motors, Azad India Mobility, and Mercedes-Benz India announced projects worth approximately Rs 5,500 crore, while the automobile ancillaries sector attracted an additional Rs 3,500 crore.
Other prominent sectors like Textiles, Pharma, Petrochemicals, and Plastic Products attracted moderate investment proposals.
The Electricity sector continued to see a focus on renewable energy. Of the Rs 87,537 crore investments attracted by this sector, approximately Rs 69,537.05 crore (79 percent) were found in non-conventional energy sources. Solar projects dominated, with 109 proposals worth Rs 49,024 crore, while 12 wind power projects accounted for Rs 20,480.86 crore. The Rs 18,000 crore, 1,600 MW thermal power project by Torrent Power was the only major conventional energy project announced.
The infrastructure sector retained its dominance in January 2025, with 1,337 new projects aggregating Rs 1,97,974.04 crore. The Transport services sub-sector led the way, attracting Rs 96,233 crore, with roadways contributing Rs 61,785 crore. Notable projects included the National Highways Authority of India’s 50 highway projects worth Rs 35,667 crore.
Real Estate developers, anticipating rising housing demand, announced 254 new housing projects worth Rs 36,501 crore. Prominent projects include the Rs 6,863 crore Residential-cum-Commercial Complex by JMD Developers in Thane, Maharashtra and the Rs 3,500 crore residential project by Sahkari Awas Nirman Evam Vitt Nigam in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.
The Power Distribution sector, which received increased attention of state governments in the recent past, saw the announcement of 119 new projects worth Rs 30,021 crore. Of these, 59 projects worth Rs 26,09 crore were promoted by the Rajasthan government. The state accounted for around 87 percent of the fresh investment proposed in this sector.
The Mining sector attracted moderate investments. In this segment, the Coal sector attracted five new proposals worth Rs 3,141 crore. Of this, the Rs 1,800 crore Meenakshi Coal Mine expansion project of Hindalco was the prominent one. The Iron Ore sector saw new mine development intentions by K B Steels, Tata Steel, and Dhanalaxmi Iron Inds.
In the Irrigation sector, the five new projects worth Rs 12,064 crore taken up by Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project Corpn., lifted the fresh investment in the sector to Rs 15,768 crore. In the preceding month, the sector had managed to attract only Rs 1,843 crore.
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