Business outlook marginally better this quarter: CII

NEW DELHI: With the economy projected to grow at a healthy pace in 2010-11, business outlook for the industry has improved, even if marginally, for the last quarter, said a CII survey.

According to the chamber's survey, the Business Confidence Index for January-March 2010-11 stood at 68.7 as compared to 67.3 in the previous quarter.

"The prospect for the coming quarter (January-March 2011) appears to be brighter...," it said.

Besides, about 70 per cent of the respondents expected the country's economy to grow by over 8 per cent in 2010-11.

The government has projected the GDP growth of 8.6 per cent for the current fiscal.

Over 60 per cent of the businessmen in the survey said that they would like to increase their spending on capacity expansion during January-March 2010 as compared to the previous quarter, it added.

During the last quarter of the fiscal, over half of the respondents expect capacity utilisation between 75-100 per cent, it said, adding that 75 per cent expect their sales to increase during the period.

About 59 per cent foresee an increase in production in the next three months despite rising raw material costs and concerns about slackening consumer demand.

"Forty four per cent of the respondents expect employment to increase from the current level in the fourth quarter of the current fiscal," the survey added.