Business resumption touches new high; NIBRI rises to 114.5

India's business resumption raced ahead, touching a new high on the back of continued moderation in Covid cases and mobility returning to pre-pandemic levels, a private tracker showed.

In a note released on Monday, global financial services group Nomura said despite the uncertainty triggered by the Omicron variant of coronavirus, high frequency data suggested that the economy remained on a recovery path and inflationary pressures were building up.

The Nomura India Business Resumption Index (NIBRI) rose to yet another high of 114.5 for the week ended November 28 from a downwardly revised 113.4 in the previous week.


The NIBRI is about 4-15pp above pre-pandemic levels, pegged at 100.

"With domestic infection cases continuing to moderate, mobility is almost back to pre-pandemic levels, and this is boosting services," Nomura said.

However, border reopening will likely be slow, as the discovery of the Omicron variant globally has prompted the Indian government to review and tighten its international travel guidelines, and several states are on alert, it added.

An ET poll of economists expects the GDP to have grown by 8.3% (median forecast) in the second quarter of the current fiscal year. Axis Bank Monday projected Q2 FY22 GDP growth at 8.3%, while keeping its full year forecast at 9.5%, but "with increasing downside risks". India Ratings and Research pegged Q2 GDP growth at 8.3% and 9.4% for FY22. The government will release the official GDP data on Tuesday.