New Delhi, Oct. 2 -- The economy's two primary growth engines-consumption and investment-are moving at divergent speeds. While private consumption gained traction - rising 7.1% in the June quarter against 6.8% a year ago - investment has been uneven so far this fiscal year.

At first glance, new project announcements rose 33% year-on-year (y-o-y) during the April-September (H1) period of FY27 to Rs.30 trillion, following a g 46% surge in the corresponding period last fiscal year. New announcements rose 8.4% over H2 FY26, according to Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) data.

However, a close look at the quarterly trend reveals the lopsided nature of these announcements. New project proposals in the September quarter contracted ne...