The robust macro fundamentals of the Indian economy despite the global headwinds got mirrored in an uptick of the CII Business Confidence Index (CII-BCI) to a three-quarter high of 67.1 in the Jul-Sep quarter FY24 as compared to a reading of 66.1 in the previous quarter and 62.2 in the same quarter last year. The reading reaffirms the sustained positive momentum seen in host of high frequency indicators such as GST collection, air & rail passenger traffic, PMIs among others in the second quarter. The buoyancy seen in rural demand in the recent period, too, was mirrored by the results of the survey which established that nearly half of the respondents (52 per cent) anticipate an improvement in rural demand in the first half of the current fiscal.
Majority of the respondents (66 per cent) feel that the Indian economy will grow in the range of 6.0-7.0 per cent in FY24, broadly in line with the forecast of RBI and other multilateral agencies. The survey results highlighted that about 55 per cent of the respondents are of the view that improving ease of doing business along with government’s thrust on capital spending, especially in infrastructure related sectors will help further crowd-in private investments. This will stimulate growth in other sectors of the economy through its multiplier effect.
More than half of the respondents (53 per cent) feel that capacity utilisation in their company would range between 75-100 per cent during Q2FY24, which is an encouraging sign as capacity utilisation needs to be maintained between 75-80 per cent to fuel fresh investments in the economy.
The 124th round of the Business Outlook Survey was conducted in September 2023 and saw the participation of more than 200 firms of varying sizes and across all industry sectors and regions of the country. Over 62 per cent of firms belonged to the MSME sector.