Private investments, she said citing a study by an industry body, have started rising at a steady and stable pace, benefitting from the “crowding in effect” of the public capex surge in recent years.
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She was speaking at an event organised by the National Council of Applied Economic Research in the national capital.
Thakur said the review of the bilateral investment treaty (BIT) model is a “work in progress” and consultations with industry are going on for this purpose. The review comes as the West Asia crisis sharpens the focus on drawing in more foreign capital.
“We are looking at what the red flags are, and we have a negative list. We will set that aside, and see what is the maximum we can put out there,” Thakur said.
ET had on June 5 reported that the government was examining whether to relax the five-year timeline for foreign investors, required under the 2016 treaty template, to first exhaust Indian legal remedies before pursuing global arbitration for dispute settlement, among other changes. Reducing this timeline remains a key demand of some foreign partners.Thakur said India stands for growth and stability in times of global turmoil. “Capital is not simply looking for high returns; it is also looking for stability, predictability and strategic resilience,” she said. “That is where the importance of a stable macroeconomic and public finance framework comes in.” Thakur said for the next phase of its development, the country needs to weave its macroeconomic policy, capital formation and industrial strategy into one coherent growth strategy, she said.
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She also highlighted the need for greater private sector investment in research and development (R&D), saying its share is to the tune of 41%, against 75-79% in some advanced countries.
Private investments picking up
Citing various data points and the industry study, Thakur said green shoots in the private investment space are visible. Project execution has picked up and project stalling is at its lowest in a decade. According to the CMIE, project announcements by the private sector averaged almost ₹34.8 lakh crore between 2024 and 2026, accounting for 71% of all new investment announcements, she said.
“Public investment continues to play a catalytic role by crowding in private investment. We are finally seeing movement in this direction,” Thakur said.
She highlighted that the Centre’s capex jumped more than five times since FY15 to reach ₹10.7 lakh crore in FY26. For the current fiscal, it’s budgetted at ₹12 lakh crore.