‘Business confidence improved in June qtr’
New Delhi: Business confidence has improved sequentially in April-June, reaffirming the positive trends in economic activity like goods and services tax (GST) collections, as well as air and rail passenger traffic, according to the Confederation of Indian Industry. CII’s business outlook survey indicates an increasing number of businesses are optimistic about prospects of fresh private investments.
The survey done in the May-June period, involved over 180 businesses across sectors and regions with nearly two-thirds representing micro, small and medium enterprises, CII said. CII’s Business Confidence Index stood at 66.1 in the June quarter, compared to 64 in the previous quarter, and 66.9 in the year earlier.
Most businesses covered in the survey expected the economy to grow at 6-7% this fiscal year, in line with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s estimates of 6.5% economic growth. Survey participants said the momentum of capital expenditure by central government, strong domestic drivers and a robust financial system are top three factors to aid growth.
The Centre is also counting on improved financial health of lenders and other companies to kick in a fresh cycle of private investments that could aid further economic growth and create more jobs. That said, slowing growth in developed economies as well as deepening geopolitical risks may impact economic growth forecast for FY24.
CII director general Chandrajit Banerjee said that the positive outlook in business confidence in the June quarter is encouraging and reiterates the on-ground experience of most industry players. “Improvement in demand has translated into improvement in capacity utilisation in msany sectors, which will lend impetus to private capex." “An
. Read more on livemint.com
