Private equity and venture capital investments declined to USD 2.2 billion in February, 39 per cent down when compared with the year-ago period's USD 3.7 billion, a report said on Thursday. On a month-on-month basis PE, VC investments have witnessed a decline of 67 per cent. The number of deals were higher at 120 transactions in February, as compared to 86 deals in January and 57 in February 2023, the report by industry lobby group IVCA and consultancy firm EY said. "This is the second lowest monthly total for PE/VC investments since February 2021. We remain cautiously optimistic as the election super cycle unfolds in India and globally, with many large economies going to the polls in 2024," the consultancy firm's partner Vivek Soni said. In February, there were seven large deals of USD 100 million or above aggregating to USD 1 billion, which is 82 per cent lower than the USD 5.7 billion in January 2024 and 66 per cent lower than the USD 3 billion in the year-ago period, the report