New projects worth Rs 1 lakh crore were launched in the December 2018 ended quarter, showed data from the Centre For Monitoring Indian Economy. This is the lowest in the current year for which data is available on the CMIE website. According to Mint newspaper, the project additions are the lowest in fourteen years.

Project additions fell to Rs 1 lakh crore from a peak of Rs 4 lakh crore in the March quarter, Rs 2.95 lakh crore in the June quarter and Rs 2.12 lakh crore in the September quarter of calendar year 2018.

To be sure, quarterly project announcements can be volatile and don’t always give an accurate picture of the overall investment environment.

The investment cycle rebounded last year after a period of sluggishness induced by excess capacity and an overhang of debt on corporate balance sheets. However, led by government projects investments have been on the rebound going by the fixed capital investments data, which is part of the GDP release.

Gross fixed capital formation rose by 12.4 percent in the September ended quarter and double digit growth for the last four quarters. While the current bout of investment growth is led by government investments, India’s Monetary Policy Committee expects a steady revival in private investments as excess capacities get utilised and corporate balance sheets get repaired.

“The acceleration in investment activity also bodes well for the medium-term growth potential of the economy. The time is apposite to further strengthen domestic macroeconomic fundamentals. In this context, fiscal discipline is critical to create space for and crowd in private investment activity,” said the MPC in its statement in December.