Clear skies ahead for Indian economy

The Indian economy seems to have a strong foothold on the recovery path backed by timely and aggressive policy responses by the Government and the RBI to tackle the crisis and a turnaround in consumer as well as business sentiment. However, some downside risks in the form of inflation and concerns regarding double dip recession in some developed economies do persist.

In a dynamic economic environment, it becomes imperative for businesses to track the macroeconomic performance on an ongoing basis. D&B's report, Economy Outlook 2010-11, is intended to facilitate more informed decisions by the businesses and also enable investors to assess the degree of business confidence and potential for India's economic growth. The report provides forecast of key macroeconomic variables, which will determine the course of the business environment over the next fiscal.

The report also includes Sectoral Outlook for 2010-11, which is a survey based analysis covering expectations of a sample of companies panning the manufacturing and services sector, to gauge their business optimism for the forthcoming year. It highlights the key issues and concerns that business leaders have regarding future business prospects, and enunciates the growth drivers and strategic focus of various sectors. The survey shows that companies across the sectors are highly optimistic with regard to demand conditions in FY11, with as many as 90% of the respondents from the manufacturing sectors expecting an increase in their sales volume as well as new orders received. Within the sectors the automobile sector is highly optimistic with regards to volume of sales with as many as 96% of the respondents anticipating increase in their sales volume. Overall optimism regarding profit expectations remained healthy with 79% of the respondents from the manufacturing sector expecting an increase in their net profits during FY11. The cement sector is highly optimistic with 85% of the respondents anticipating their net profits to increase. The year 2010-11 is likely to bring cheer for job seekers as a large majority of the respondents from both manufacturing as well as services sector foresee an increase in headcount.