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Informist, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026

 

NEW DELHI – Business confidence in the country eased to 8.0% on year in September from 8.8% in August, according to the ASSOCHAM Business Confidence Index released Wednesday. The business confidence index averaged 5.6% in Apr-Sept from 10.4% during the corresponding period a year ago, the data showed. 

 

Business confidence remains steady, despite many headwinds at the global level, the West Asia crisis, high energy prices, high inflation, and rupee depreciation, the industry body said in a press release. 

 

"ABC (Assocham Business Confidence) Index went to an all-time high in April 2026 at 129.74. The ABC Index grew by 7.5% in 2024-25 (Apr-Mar) and 9.9% in 2025-26," the data showed.

 

ASSOCHAM released its Business Confidence Index on a trial basis on Wednesday. The industry body will release the index for the next six months, during which it will review and track the index's stability and seek feedback, ASSOCHAM Chief Economist S. P. Sharma said. After review, ASSOCHAM will launch the full index starting April 2027.

 

"The Index will provide the monthly value on the last working day of the month in October, November and December 2026 and from January 2027 the Index will become fortnightly," the release said.

 

Currently, the composite index is based on 20 high-frequency indicators such as goods and services tax collections, passenger vehicle sales, Sensex, Purchasing Managers' Index, exports and bank credit. These economic indicators have been assigned weights to reflect their relative contribution to the overall index movement.

 

The other data sets used in the index are the Index of Industrial Production, Index of Core Industries, Consumer Price Index, digital payments by volume, Wholesale Price Index, foreign exchange reserves, gross foreign direct investment, exchange rate, repo rate, and GDP growth rate. The index will also include the unemployment rate, current account deficit, fiscal deficit, and index-based feedback on the effects of economic reforms. The compiler aims to replace the wholesale price index with the producer price index in line with the government, according to a research team member at ASSOCHAM.

 

The index tracks whether economic conditions are improving, weakening, or remaining stable based on these 20 indicators. "The index will give businesses, policymakers, and investors a broader view of the evolving economic environment and support more informed decision-making," said ASSOCHAM President Nirmal Kumar Minda.  End

 

Reported by Shweta

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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