India Inc sustains performance gains: Survey

New Delhi: India Inc registered continued improvement in capacity utilisation and sales in December but high managing costs and weak demand still remain sore points for businesses, a survey conducted by industry lobby Ficci and Dhruva Advisors showed on Monday.

The prospect of a vaccine for Covid-19, continued support from the government and the Reserve Bank of India, and the expected benefits from a shifting global supply chain have improved business sentiment, the survey found.

“The results of the survey are encouraging and highlight the ongoing industrial and economic recovery,” Ficci president Uday Shankar said. “This momentum needs to be built upon and now all eyes are on the upcoming budget.”


According to the survey, 21% of the respondents reported capacity utilisation between 50% and 70%, up from 17% in the second round of survey in August and 12% in the first round in June.

In the survey, 50% of the respondents reported a positive impact of the ‘unlock’ on their order books in December, up from 44% in August and 25% in June.

In a sure sign that the economy was not out of the woods just yet, in terms of the pandemic impact, 59% of the firms saw weak demand as a key challenge in the current situation. This remains a persistent problem as the figure was the same in June, although it represented a decline from 68% in August.

In response to a question on the expected time frame for a return to economic normalcy post the stimulus package and unlock, 55% of the respondents felt it would take a year, as against 62% in August and 57% in June.

Nearly three-fourth of the respondents felt their business would be significantly impacted post the availability of a vaccine, with 35% of these firms expecting a return to normal growth levels within six months from this point.

On Atmanirbhar Bharat 3.0, the latest stimulus package, 45% of the firms saw the move as “good” or “excellent”, while over half or 55% thought it was “average”.