Discussion at FICCI-CRF Seminar Highlights the Need for a Deeper Understanding of Private Investment Trends
July 08, 2026
NEW DELHI, 8 July 2026: India's sustained public capital expenditure has laid a strong foundation for growth, with visible improvements in infrastructure across the country, Mr. Rajeev Singh Thakur, Programme Director at NITI Aayog, said at a seminar jointly organised by the FICCI and Chintan Research Foundation, adding that the next phase of India's growth story lay in catalyzing greater private investment through continued reforms, policy stability and an enabling business environment.
The seminar, 'Investment Economics in India: Manufacturing, FDI and Industrial Transformation' brought together senior policymakers, industrialists and researchers to examine India's investment.
Mr. Thakur said India has worked consistently to create a more conducive investment climate through initiatives such as the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, decriminalization of business laws and the Jan Vishwas reforms, and that boosting private investment remained a priority area, underscoring the need to better understand ground-level issues and compliance bottlenecks. He cited the deregulation cell operating at Cabinet Secretary level, under which government officers are assigned specific states to work with on identifying and removing redundant regulations, as an example of the collaborative approach between the Centre and states. Stronger Centre-State collaboration and a facilitative regulatory framework were creating the conditions for greater private investment, manufacturing competitiveness and export-led growth as India worked towards its goal of becoming a developed economy by 2047.
Mr. Anant Swarup, Secretary General of FICCI, said investment had emerged as a defining pillar of India's growth trajectory, and that a deeper understanding of private investment trends, sectoral challenges and the policy measures needed to unlock greater capital flows would be crucial to achieving the vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047.
Dr Rupa Dutta, Distinguished Fellow at CRF, said the world was witnessing a fundamental reordering of the global economy, with production networks being reshaped and investment flows responding to new geopolitical realities and technological shifts as nations competed intensely for capital, innovation, talent and advanced manufacturing. She said India had been preparing for this moment through a sustained reform agenda anchored in macroeconomic stability, rapid digital transformation and unprecedented investment in infrastructure. Initiatives such as PM Gati Shakti, the National Logistics Policy and continued focus on digitalization had strengthened India's competitiveness and enhanced investor confidence, adding that it was encouraging to see this reflected in the growing confidence of Indian industry across sectors, reinforcing India's emergence as a preferred destination for investment and manufacturing.
Delivering the keynote address in the session on domestic investment, Ms. Mercy Epao, Joint Secretary in the SME Division at the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, said MSMEs accounted for nearly half of India's exports. The ministry's priority, she said, was to help more enterprises become first-time exporters by supporting certification, capacity building, ensuring access to finance, and awareness of opportunities arising from India's free trade agreements.
Mr. Surendra Kumar Ahirwar, Executive Director, Traffic Commercial, Ministry of Railways, said investment decisions were driven by confidence, informed risk assessment and the assurance of stable returns. While policymakers had to balance diverse and often competing stakeholder interests, he said stronger reforms could be enabled through broader, solution-oriented policy recommendations from industry that addressed economy-wide priorities, adding that the government's openness to dialogue and collaborative policymaking provided a strong foundation for such constructive engagement.
Other panelists provided detailed recommendations pertaining to catalyzing domestic investments and creation of a streamlined FDI environment.
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