CII survey finds business sentiment bounce-back between July and September as restrictions eased

NEW DELHI: Business sentiment has bounced back between July and September as India gradually lifted restrictions imposed due to the outbreak of Covid-19, a confederation of Indian industry (CII) survey has pointed out.
Even though capacity utilisation has been improving, weak domestic demand still remains a concern, the industry body said in its recent Business Outlook Survey.

“While a recovery is underway, it could be tremendously expedited through continued government support and handholding of businesses during this crisis,” CII director general Chandrajit Banerjee said in a statement.

The latest CII Business Confidence Index surged to 50.3 in July-September 2020, bouncing back from its lowest reading of 41.0 recorded in April-Jun 2020.

The recovery in the index has been supported by the remarkable increase in the Expectations Index (EI), which rose 46% quarter-on-quarter, to the level of 55.2, as nation-wide lockdown restrictions were lifted, and businesses gradually began to reopen during the July-September quarter.

The Current Situation Index (CSI), however, continued to trail below 50, at 40.6, depicting weak confidence in April-June 2020 – a period marked with stringent lockdowns and complete shutdown of business operations.