New Delhi, July 2 -- Indian companies began 2025-26 on a subdued note, with investment appetite for new projects sinking to one of the lowest in nearly five years.

While the June quarter is often a quieter period, new government capital expenditure (capex) announcements were the lowest this year in at least a decade.

According to data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy's (CMIE) project-tracking database, new projects worth Rs.4.1 trillion were announced across the country during the first quarter of the current fiscal. This marks one of the lowest investment proposals since the first three quarters of 2020-21 (amid pandemic lockdowns) and the first quarter of 2024-25 (during general elections).

"There is usually a seasonal d...