CII’s 109th edition of quarterly Business Outlook Survey is based on nearly 200 responses from large, medium, small and micro firms, covering all regions of the country.
The key findings of the survey include:
The CII Business Confidence Index (CII- BCI) fell to a six-and-a-half year low of 49.4, much below the previous quarter’s reading of 52.5.
More than half of the respondents (53 percent) expect GDP growth to fall below 5.5% in 2019-20, followed by 37 percent of them who anticipate GDP growth to be a tad higher, in the 5.5%-6.0% range.
On the inflation front, a major proportion of the respondents (44 percent) foresee an increase in retail inflation in 2019-20.
Nearly half of the respondents (48 percent) foresee another cut in policy rates in 2019-20, followed by a large proportion of respondents (30 percent) anticipating status quo on policy rates going forward.
Majority of the respondents (91 percent) anticipate fiscal slippage in 2019-20.
Major share of the respondents (44 percent) feel that business sentiment remains unchanged, despite the recent policy stimulus.