Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday that private investment must now lead India’s economic cycle, addressing the 5th Kautilya Economic Conclave in New Delhi.

Sitharaman noted that India spends just 0.83 percent of GDP on research and development, against an OECD average of 2.7 percent. Private firms account for only about 36 percent of India’s R&D spending, the reverse of the pattern in most innovating economies.

She pointed to the Rs 1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation scheme as the government’s main lever to push corporate research. Her message to industry: move from ‘Made in India’ to ‘Imagined in India’.

Budgeted central capex for FY27 is Rs 12.22 lakh crore, rising to Rs 17.15 lakh crore or 4.4 percent of GDP once capital grants to states are included. The fiscal deficit target is 4.3 percent.

She cited 7.8 percent GDP growth in Q1 FY27, $766 billion in forex reserves and record-low bank NPAs as evidence of resilience. She outlined six foundations: last-mile delivery, financial access, infrastructure, reforms, price stability and fiscal prudence.