India’s business confidence shows signs of sagging: survey
18 Oct 2010
The business confidence of Indian industry for the October-December quarter has fallen on concerns such as inflation and high interest rates, says a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) survey.
CII's 74th Business Outlook Survey (BCI) for the October-December quarter based on responses of 150 firms showed that the business confidence index (BCI) is lower for the manufacturing and services sector.
Industry expects gross domestic product (GDP) to grow at 8 per cent in the current fiscal year, mirroring a drop in confidence among the country's business community about the economy's overall prospects.
CII's business confidence index for October-December 2010 fell by 1.4 points to 66.2 as compared to an increase of 1.5 points during April-September. The index reflects the expectation of Indian industry about the performance of companies, sectors and the economy.
The survey found inflationary conditions, slackening consumer demand, cost and availability of labour and high interest rates as the top concerns.
"There has been some moderation in business confidence reflecting concerns about the outlook for the current quarter," said Chandrajit Banerjee, CII director general.