Private Investment

Jet-fuel for foreign flights has cheapened while small eateries shut down; LPG consumption has fallen while petrol use has risen. Many citizens are trying to save fuel—even braving metro rides. More folks can chip in, but these sacrifices won’t fix our K-shaped economy.

Despite policy incentives, Indian business families continue to prioritize treasury gains, rues Uday Kotak. But do his proposed fixes cut it?

India’s government has tried almost everything to revive private investment: tax cuts, a bank clean-up, infrastructure spending and other forms of fiscal stimulus. Yet corporate India remains reluctant to invest. How come?

Ted Turner bet his media business on a future that market research said didn’t exist—and won. He had little time for conventional wisdom and a vision of his very own. As it turned out, that’s exactly what the creation of a media empire takes.

A study of data reveals that heavy public debt can act as a drag on research and development (R&D) in an economy. To foster innovation, we should keep fiscal deficits across India modest enough to keep capital costs in check. It could brighten our economic prospects.

Engagement with the world’s pre-eminent free market is more important for India than any other relationship. It could deliver far more than trade gains. It could impact how policy is made in New Delhi, revive private investment and enlarge space for market-led growth.

There is now a need to explore why private investment has not shown signs of any significant pickup yet. This would facilitate more sectoral-level interventions in the upcoming budget.

Our growth looks strong but the economy is still too reliant on public expenditure. Private firms remain hesitant to invest—not for lack of money, but confidence. Here’s what the budget must do to kick off private investment and give the Centre space to pare its debt to 50% of GDP by 2030-31.