India's business confidence hits highest level in five quarters: CII

Business confidence in India surged to a five-quarter high in Q3FY26, according to a CII survey. The optimism is driven by strong domestic demand and investment prospects, reinforcing India's status as the world's fastest-growing major economy.

Business Confidence at 5-Quarter High

Business confidence among Indian industry is high, as corroborated by the latest Business Outlook Survey of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), which said India has firmly established itself as the world's fastest-growing major economy, demonstrating remarkable resilience amid global uncertainty shaped by geopolitical tensions, trade weaponisation, and a slowing world economy. This growth is largely being attributed to bold reform initiatives.

CII's Business Confidence Index rose for the third consecutive quarter to 66.5 in Q3FY26, the highest level in five quarters. The improvement is driven by optimism around demand, profitability, and investment conditions, the industry chamber said in a statement. Domestic demand remains the key driver, with two-thirds of firms reporting higher demand in Q2FY26 and 72 per cent expecting further growth in Q3FY26, aided by GST rate cuts and festive consumption. Investment and hiring intentions remain robust.

"The steady rise in business confidence shows industry's ability to navigate external headwinds, anchored by resilient domestic demand and a robust reform agenda," noted Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII. He further added that industry anticipates the growth momentum to strengthen further in the months ahead.

CII's Recommendations for Union Budget

CII is confident that the reform momentum will continue in the forthcoming Union Budget and has made several recommendations as it continues to engage with the policymakers on the next set of reforms. CII suggested that the focus should be on shovel-ready, revenue-generating projects and streamlined dispute-resolution mechanisms to accelerate infrastructure delivery and crowd-in private investment.

India Development and Strategic Fund (IDSF)

In parallel, CII calls for robust development and strategic funding mechanisms to enhance India's long-term competitiveness. At the heart of this is the creation of an India Development and Strategic Fund (IDSF), which can be a sovereign-anchored platform to mobilise large pools of domestic institutional capital and foreign investment. The IDSF could operate through two complementary arms: a developmental arm to support domestic priorities such as MSMEs, energy transition, and human capital; and a strategic arm to enable overseas acquisitions and partnerships that secure India's long-term economic and security interests.

Digitisation and Ease of Doing Business

CII also suggests an Rs 1,000-crore Digitisation Fund to accelerate India's regulatory digitisation, advancing the Unified Enterprise Identity, Entity Locker, API-based compliance, upgraded e-Gazette and India Code, and a National Compliance Grid, eliminating duplication, enabling real-time data flows, and creating paperless, presence-less digital rails that cut compliance burdens and boost ease of doing business.

Accelerating Innovation and R&D

Recognising that future growth will increasingly be powered by knowledge and technology, CII emphasises accelerating Innovation and R&D. CII suggested establishing 10 Centres of Advanced Learning and Research (CALRs), each with a budget of Rs 1,000 crore, focused on frontier domains such as AI, quantum, advanced materials, robotics, clean energy, and biotechnology. These could be operated through a public-private co-funding model with matched industry-government contributions. This could be complemented by an India Talent Agency in major global hubs to attract top talent, engage diaspora researchers, and position India as a global innovation leader.

Enhancing Global Integration

To strengthen India's global integration, CII recommended enabling trade and exports through a simplified three-tier tariff structure, with low tariffs on inputs and moderate tariffs on intermediates, to enhance competitiveness, integrate into global value chains, and promote export diversification.

Financial Sector Reforms

Finally, on the financial sector front, CII advocates a comprehensive strengthening of India's banking ecosystem by enhancing the capital base of Development Financial Institutions, enabling selective NBFC-to-bank transitions, allowing calibrated foreign equity, encouraging the entry of well-capitalised new banks, and consolidating weaker institutions to improve scale and efficiency. An expert committee, on the lines of the earlier Narsimhan Committees, could be set up to reassess banking structures, ownership and governance norms, capital frameworks, and long-term institutional design for a future-ready financial sector, CII suggested.

To unlock liquidity and attract global capital, CII recommends accelerating asset tokenisation across real estate, infrastructure, and financial assets. Building on RBI and IFSCA pilots, a National Asset Tokenisation Framework should define clear legal, regulatory, and tax provisions while standardising issuance and trading protocols. Leveraging GIFT City for initial pilots, expanding regulatory sandboxes, and developing vibrant secondary markets will deepen investor participation and support innovative fractional-ownership models that modernise India's financial architecture.

By continuing to invest in infrastructure and digital systems, simplifying and modernising regulation, expanding opportunities for households, and strengthening the innovation capacity of industry, India is poised to unshackle its economic potential even further.

"Sustained reform and a strong industry-government partnership will enable India to maintain world-leading growth while ensuring that opportunity reaches every household," added Chandrajit Banerjee. (ANI)

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