Overview
- The CII survey, conducted in early to mid‑December across more than 175 firms in manufacturing and services, set the Business Confidence Index at 66.5 for Q3 FY26.
- Respondents cited resilient domestic demand and September GST rate cuts, with about two‑thirds reporting stronger demand in Q2 and 72% expecting further gains in Q3, while 56.3% foresee 5–20% sales growth.
- Investment and hiring plans remain firm, and 69% of firms expect the Reserve Bank of India to cut the repo rate by the end of Q4 FY26.
- Ahead of the Feb. 1 Union Budget, CII urged a Rs 150‑lakh crore NIP 2.0 focused on shovel‑ready, revenue‑generating infrastructure to crowd in private capital.
- The agenda also proposes an India Development and Strategic Fund, a Rs 1,000‑crore Digitisation Fund, ten Rs 1,000‑crore research centres, and banking‑sector strengthening, set against FY26 growth pegged at 7.4% real and 8% nominal.