PTI New Delhi

The Business Confidence Index (BCI) rose sharply to 149.4 in the April-June period from 139.3 in the last quarter of 2024-25, according to the Business Expectations Survey of National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER). NCAER in a statement said the BCI is based on four components -- overall economic conditions to improve in next six months, financial position of firms will improve in the next six months, present investment climate and whether present capacity utilisation was close to or above optimal level.

The share of positive responses across the four components remains above 60% in the first quarter and also each component exhibited improving trend compared to the preceding quarter, the statement added. Majority of respondents expected production (78.7%) and domestic sales (79.1%) to increase in the next six months. The statement said sentiments about export of final products also improved (66.5%) in the first quarter of the current fiscal year.

Percentage of firms expecting import of raw materials to rise also increased (54.3%) from the preceding quarter (46.1%), signalling a push in domestic production activities, it added. Regarding sentiments about pre-tax profits, nearly 61% of firms expected them to rise, indicating continued buoyancy. However, the statement said buoyancy in business sentiments was not reflected in the labour markets that showed signs of stagnation with both sentiments about hiring and expectations of wage rates remaining unchanged over the next six months.