In the first two months of the last quarter of FY24, both the Private and the Central government sectors saw a resurgence in their investment activities, indicating a revival in projex activities vis-a-vis the preceding quarter (Q3/FY24). Compared to a total project expenditure (projex) of Rs 4,51,329 crore announced in Q3/FY24, the first two months of the last quarter attracted a significant amount of fresh investment, totaling Rs 9,22,095.22 crore.
In the month of February 2024, in all 969 new projects worth Rs Rs 4,33,885.16 crore were announced. The month of January 2024 had seen fresh investment announcement of Rs 4,88,210.06 crore in the form of 930 projects.
Projex by Ownership
Private sector entities, both Indian and foreign companies, dominated the investment landscape in February 2024, accounting for 61.30 percent of the total investment. They announced 592 new projects with a total investment of Rs 2,65,992.32 crore. This is the second-highest monthly investment announced in the last 11 months. Further, out of the 77 mega projects announced during the month, 49 were owned by private promoters, with a combined outlay of Rs 2,12,161.17 crore.
Some of the mega private projects announced in the month include ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel’s Rs 40,000 crore steel plant in Maharashtra; Kalyani Steels Rs 11,750 crore Titanium Metal & Aerospace Components project in Odisha; Eco Leap Technologies Rs 11,558 crore Pumped Storage Hydel Power project in Tamil Nadu and Reliance Chemicals Rs 8,500 crore Polyvinyl Chloride project in Maharashtra.
With 377 new projects together worth Rs Rs 1,67,892.84 crore, the government sector accounted for 38.7 percent of the total fresh projex emanated in February 2024. Largely helped by 24 mega projects, which included 11 highways, 7 power plants, 3 Railways, and one steel plant, the Central Government dominated the government sector with a total fresh investment commitment of Rs 1,32,553.33 crore accounting for 30.55 percent of the total fresh investment emerged in February 2024. State government agencies announced 272 new investment proposals with a total outlay of Rs 35,339.51 crore.
Projex by State
The recent interaction of the state Chief Minister and his colleagues with the Indian and foreign industry leaders has paid a rich dividend to Maharashtra in terms of fresh projex. In February 2024, the state attracted 298 new projects with an aggregate projex of Rs 1,37,382.67 crore. This helped the state to top the investment table with a share of 31.66 percent in the total investment. Of the 77 mega projects announced in the month, 23 projects worth Rs 1,07,916 crore are set to be located in the state.
The southern state, Andhra Pradesh ranked second with 41 projects worth Rs 43,787.45 crore. Around 72 percent of the total fresh investment attracted by the state has come in the form of nine Solar and Wind power projects worth Rs 31,481 crore. The third-ranked Uttar Pradesh cornered 63 projects amounting to Rs 33,161.44 crore. Three high-ticket Pumped Storage Hydel power projects accounted for around 70 percent of the fresh investment announced in the state.
Gujarat, with 81 projects and an investment of Rs 31,672.99 crore, and West Bengal with 20 projects worth Rs 26,126.44 crore followed Uttar Pradesh and ranked fourth and fifth respectively.
