Private sector's reluctance to invest in India corporate motion of no-confidence in govt: Congress

NEW DELHI: The private sector's reluctance to invest in India is a corporate motion of no-confidence in the Narendra Modi government, the Congress claimed on Monday.

The opposition party also urged the government to take measures in the upcoming Union budget to stimulate and sustain domestic investment in the country that, it claimed, was on the decline.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the investment environment in India had been sluggish in the "Modi decade".

In a post on X, he said the Gross Fixed Capital Formation had fallen from an average of 32 per cent of GDP during Manmohan Singh's prime ministerial decade to consistently being below 29 per cent of GDP in the past 10 years.

"Investment is sluggish because mass consumption is not accelerating, tax and other authorities are threatening and intimidating businesses, and because of the growing perception that only four-five business groups can grow in the Modi regime," he said.

"Now comes fresh evidence of the private sector's reluctance to invest in India under this government -- net foreign direct investment (FDI) fell to a 12-year low in April-October this year (2024). Gross FDI inflows have stagnated," he added.

Indian firms are increasingly choosing to invest abroad rather than at home, Ramesh claimed. "This is a corporate motion of no-confidence in the Modi government."

Asserting that FDI was very important, he said, "But more fundamental is DI -- Domestic Investment. How to stimulate and sustain DI has to be the central concern of the Union budget, to be present 26 days from today."

The Union budget will be presented on February 1.