Corporate confidence index surges with new government
P Jayaram
October 31, 1999, 17:15 Hrs (IST)
New Delhi: The corporate confidence index (CCI) rose by 23.45 per cent following the assumption of office of the new Indian government of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, according to a survey.
The survey was based on opinions of 458 corporates taken before and after the government formation by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). It proves that the challenge of globalisation could only be met through stable governments, FICCI said.
The survey showed that 82.35 per cent of the respondents were upbeat of a revival in the economy in the current fiscal year. The revival phase, they feel, is a sustained one on account of two consecutive good years of agriculture coupled with the widespread restructuring undertaken or proposed to be undertaken by the corporates.
In industries like textiles, consumer goods, automobiles and auto components, services and engineering, more than 85 per cent of the respondents were hopeful of a recovery by the end of the current year, while in steel, cement, chemicals and capital goods, 60 to 75 per cent were optimistic that the revival would continue.
According to the survey, the industrial outlook for the immediate future is also optimistic as compared to last year, with a majority of 53 per cent of the respondents feeling that in the current year, industrial growth will be four to six per cent. But 29.41 per cent felt it could be as high as six to eight per cent.
Almost 86 per cent said the gross domestic product (GDP) would grow by five to six per cent, while 42.4 per cent felt that despite a 35 per cent hike in diesel prices, the inflation rate would grow in a modest band of 2.5 to 3.5 per cent.
A majority of the respondents (65 per cent) felt that fiscal deficit, which is the stumbling block for industry to grow, will rise by five to seven per cent of the GDP, the survey said.
(India Abroad News Service )
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