Emphasising the need for another fiscal package, a FICCI's Business Confidence Survey has said that the business sentiment in the country has been deeply impacted due to the second wave of coronavirus infections. It said that the overall business confidence index has nosedived and stood at 51.5 in the current round after reporting a decadal high value of 74.2 in the previous survey round. There was a ‘sharp deterioration’ in the optimism level of corporate India vis-a-vis the previous survey.
According to the survey, worsening current conditions, as well as muted expectations about the near-term prospects on the back of a sweeping second wave of coronavirus infections, pulled down the overall index value by over 20 points. With household income being severely impacted and past savings are already drawn down during the first wave of infections, demand conditions are expected to remain weak for longer this time around.
On the fiscal side, it said companies unanimously felt the need for another fiscal package, focusing majorly on addressing the demand side. It also suggested that demand boosting measures such as direct income support to rural as well as urban poor, income tax reductions for the middle class, and temporary reductions in indirect taxes must be urgently considered.
