Looking Up

Business confidence rises moderately in the run-up to general elections as corporate leaders expect status quo on microeconomic and macroeconomic indicators, finds the latest Business Today-C fore Business Confidence Survey.

- Manu Kaushik

It’s hard to say if a new government at the Centre affects economic growth or not but that has been the perception among a number of corporate leaders and economists for years. There is always a fear of change even if there is no evidence to suggest that a change in government slows economic growth. In the latest Business Confidence Index (BCI) survey for the October-December quarter, 43 percent respondents believed a new government at the Centre could impede GDP growth; 40 percent thought otherwise.

Sujan Hajra, Chief Economist at Anand Rathi Financial Services, says since 1991, there have been six different prime ministers, and none of them have reversed the reforms of the previous governments. “The flagship schemes of this government, whether it is DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer), GST (Goods and Services Tax) or Aadhaar, were there in the previous government too. The pace, priorities and composition of the reforms can change but I don’t see the direction of the reforms changing,” he says.