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New Delhi, Oct 23 (PTI) After moderating for four consecutive quarters amid prolonged geopolitical tensions, India’s business sentiment rose to 107.8 in the second quarter from 99.8 in April-June this fiscal, according to the latest NCAER Business Expectations Survey.
The latest survey was conducted in September and covered 502 firms of various sizes across six cities. Delhi NCR represented the north, Bengaluru and Chennai the south, Kolkata the east and Mumbai and Pune the west, the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) said.
“Though BCI improved, it was lower than the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal year (142.6 in 2025−26: Q2),” it said.
BCI comprises four components — overall economic conditions will improve in the
next six months; financial position of the firms will improve in the next six months; present investment climate is positive; and present capacity utilisation was close to or above the optimal level.
The survey said the BCI rose in the second quarter, driven by higher sentiments across all four components.
“The share of firms expecting ‘overall economic conditions to improve in the next six months’ increased from 43 per cent in 2026-27: Q1 to 50 per cent in 2026-27: Q2,” NCAER said.
The share of firms expecting their financial position to improve in the next six months increased from 37 per cent in Q1 to 41 per cent in Q2.
The share of firms perceiving that the ‘present investment climate is positive’ rose from 26 per cent in Q1 to 30 per cent in Q2.
Also, the share of firms considering that the ‘present capacity utilisation would remain close to or above optimal levels’ rose from 91 per cent in Q1 to 94 per cent in Q2.
The BCI for MSMEs and large firms rose from 93 in Q1 to 100 in Q2, and from 111.6 to 120.3, respectively.
NCAER’s Bornali Bhandari, who led the survey, said, “The data indicate a broad-based recovery in sentiments across both MSMEs and large firms”.
“Overall business prospects improved both domestically and externally, and cost sentiments have moderated,” she added. PTI BKS BKS BAL
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