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Date : Feb 08, 2024
Services and Infrastructure Outlook Survey for Q3:2023-24

Today, the Reserve Bank released the results of 39th round of its quarterly Services and Infrastructure Outlook Survey (SIOS) conducted during Q3:2023-24. This forward-looking survey1 captures qualitative assessment and expectations of Indian companies engaged in the services and infrastructure sectors on a set of business parameters relating to demand conditions, price situation and other business conditions. In the latest round of the survey, 528 companies provided their assessment for Q3:2023-24 and expectations for Q4:2023-24 as well as outlook on key parameters for the subsequent two quarters.

Highlights:

A. Services Sector

Assessment for Q3:2023-24

  • Services sector enterprises gauged improvement in the overall business situation, employment conditions, finance availability and their turnover during Q3:2023-24 (Chart 1 and Table A).

  • On the expenditure side, pressures stemming from input prices, cost of finance and staff expenses were assessed to have continued.

  • Assessment for profit margin improved, benefitting from rise in turnover and selling prices.

Expectations for Q4:2023-24

  • Demand for services is likely to rise further on the back of improved business situation; firms remained highly optimistic on turnover, availability of finance and job landscape (Table A).

  • Cost pressures are likely to persist in Q4:2023-24; respondents displayed higher optimism on selling prices, profit margins and physical investment, when compared to the previous survey round.

Expectations for Q1:2024-25 and Q2:2024-25

  • Respondents remain optimistic on business conditions for the first half of 2024-25 with sequential improvement in successive quarters. In tandem, job scenario is also expected to improve (Table C).

  • Input cost pressures are likely to continue, and firms also expect rise in selling prices.

Chart 1: Turnover of Services Companies - Net Response

B. Infrastructure Sector

Assessment for Q3:2023-24

  • Infrastructure companies assessed better overall business situation as well as their turnover during Q3:2023-24 (Chart 2 and Table B).

  • Respondents were positive on both full-time and part-time employment.

  • Enterprises assessed rise in selling prices in the phase of increasing cost pressures in the sector during Q3:2023-24.

Expectations for Q4:2023-24

  • Infrastructure companies remain highly optimistic about overall business situation, their turnover and employment conditions (Table B).

  • Cost pressures are likely to rise further and firms expected higher selling prices and profit margins.

  • Optimism on physical investment in the infrastructure sector has surged in the latest survey round.

Expectations for Q1:2024-25 and Q2:2024-25

  • Respondents expect sequential improvement on demand and employment conditions during H1:2024-25 (Table D).

  • Both input costs and selling prices are likely to increase till Q2:2024-25.

Chart 2: Turnover of Infrastructure Companies - Net Response

Summary of Net Responses2 on Survey Parameters
Table A: Services Sector
(per cent)
Parameters Assessment period Expectations period
Q2:2023-24 Q3:2023-24 Q3:2023-24 Q4:2023-24
Overall Business Situation 34.4 35.6 43.1 54.8
Turnover 28.9 32.3 30.5 53.4
Full-time Employees 17.3 21.4 16.5 28.8
Part-time Employees 6.2 13.2 14.4 23.1
Availability of Finance 18.0 24.9 24.2 37.4
Cost of Finance -30.1 -32.3 -26.6 -34.4
Salary & Wages -39.2 -38.4 -29.5 -36.8
Cost of Inputs -28.1 -37.9 -22.2 -45.7
Selling Price 6.5 15.1 14.2 30.7
Profit Margin 4.3 9.7 13.8 27.5
Inventories 16.5 22.2 22.9 28.3
Technical/Service Capacity 25.3 21 40.0 34.1
Physical Investment 27.6 20.1 22.3 32.2

Table B: Infrastructure Sector
(per cent)
Parameters Assessment period Expectations period
Q2:2023-24 Q3:2023-24 Q3:2023-24 Q4:2023-24
Overall Business Situation 29.8 34.2 64.4 68.1
Turnover 31.7 36.1 50.0 73.9
Full-time Employees 16.3 22.2 39.4 60.7
Part-time Employees 31.0 29.2 55.2 68.3
Availability of Finance 26.0 30.8 42.7 61.3
Cost of Finance -44.8 -31.8 -54.2 -60.7
Salary & Wages -35.9 -40.7 -39.2 -59.0
Cost of Inputs -45.1 -47.9 -45.0 -55.7
Selling Price 20.7 28.0 38.0 60.0
Profit Margin 7.8 25.0 31.4 48.7
Inventories 36.8 36.9 57.9 74.3
Technical/Service Capacity 36.2 35.5 66.7 75.0
Physical Investment 34.2 31.6 46.8 75.3

Expectations of Select Parameters for extended period – Net response
(in per cent)
Table C: Services Sector
Parameter Round 38 Round 39
Q3:2023-24 Q4:2023-24 Q1:2024-25 Q2:2024-25
Overall Business Situation 43.1 54.8 57.8 60.6
Turnover 30.5 53.4 60.9 61.8
Full-time Employees 16.5 28.8 44.7 43.6
Part-time Employees 14.4 23.1 33.0 33.1
Cost of Inputs   -22.2 -45.7 -47.6 -46.7
Selling Price 14.2 30.7 37.8 39.4

Table D: Infrastructure Sector
Parameter Round 38 Round 39
Q3:2023-24 Q4:2023-24 Q1:2024-25 Q2:2024-25
Overall Business Situation 64.4 68.1 76.3 83.8
Turnover 50.0 73.9 80.5 82.1
Full-time Employees 39.4 60.7 67.8 72.2
Part-time Employees 55.2 68.3 69.3 74.0
Cost of Inputs   -45.0 -55.7 -73.9 -73.6
Selling Price 38.0 60.0 78.8 77.6

Note: Please see the excel file for time series data.

Services Sector

Table S1: Assessment and Expectation for Overall Business Situation
(Percentage responses)@
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Better No Change Worse Net response# Better No Change Worse Net response
Q3:22-23 52.4 43.3 4.3 48.1 57.4 38.1 4.4 53.0
Q4:22-23 59.8 30.0 10.3 49.5 55.0 40.0 5.0 50.1
Q1:23-24 55.0 32.0 13.0 42.0 64.2 27.4 8.4 55.8
Q2:23-24 48.4 37.7 14.0 34.4 62.3 31.3 6.4 56.0
Q3:23-24 47.6 40.4 12.0 35.6 51.0 41.2 7.8 43.1
Q4:23-24         59.4 36.0 4.6 54.8
‘Increase’ in Overall business situation is optimistic.
@: Due to rounding off percentage may not add up to 100.
#: Net Response (NR) is the difference of percentage of the respondents reporting optimism and that reporting pessimism. The range is -100 to 100. Any value greater than zero indicates expansion/ optimism and any value less than zero indicates contraction/ pessimism.

Table S2: Assessment and Expectation for Turnover
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q3:22-23 49.2 45.2 5.5 43.7 61.6 34.0 4.4 57.1
Q4:22-23 57.4 34.0 8.5 48.9 51.5 42.5 6.0 45.5
Q1:23-24 59.4 30.2 10.4 49.0 60.0 33.1 6.9 53.1
Q2:23-24 43.8 41.3 14.9 28.9 59.3 36.3 4.4 54.9
Q3:23-24 48.2 35.9 15.9 32.3 40.3 49.9 9.8 30.5
Q4:23-24         59.8 33.8 6.4 53.4
‘Increase’ in Turnover is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table S3: Assessment and Expectation for Full-time Employees
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q3:22-23 42.9 52.5 4.6 38.4 38.4 55.9 5.8 32.6
Q4:22-23 45.1 48.0 7.0 38.1 47.1 48.0 4.8 42.3
Q1:23-24 40.1 47.8 12.1 27.9 47.8 45.9 6.3 41.6
Q2:23-24 34.3 48.7 17.0 17.3 44.7 52.6 2.7 42.0
Q3:23-24 29.9 61.6 8.5 21.4 26.4 63.7 9.9 16.5
Q4:23-24         32.4 64.0 3.6 28.8
‘Increase’ in Full-time Employees is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table S4: Assessment and Expectation for Part-time Employees
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q3:22-23 40.1 54.8 5.1 34.9 27.8 67.3 5.0 22.8
Q4:22-23 36.2 58.5 5.3 30.9 41.8 53.1 5.1 36.7
Q1:23-24 30.9 59.1 9.9 21.0 35.3 60.6 4.2 31.1
Q2:23-24 24.4 57.5 18.1 6.2 36.7 57.9 5.3 31.4
Q3:23-24 21.5 70.3 8.2 13.2 31.0 52.3 16.7 14.4
Q4:23-24         28.8 65.4 5.8 23.1
‘Increase’ in Part-time Employees is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table S5: Assessment and Expectation for Availability of Finance
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Improve No Change Worsen Net response Improve No Change Worsen Net response
Q3:22-23 42.1 53.4 4.6 37.5 32.9 61.0 6.2 26.7
Q4:22-23 34.9 61.6 3.6 31.3 42.3 52.4 5.4 36.9
Q1:23-24 29.3 61.2 9.5 19.7 36.0 61.4 2.6 33.4
Q2:23-24 30.6 56.8 12.6 18.0 39.5 57.0 3.5 36.0
Q3:23-24 32.3 60.3 7.4 24.9 31.5 61.1 7.3 24.2
Q4:23-24         40.4 56.7 2.9 37.4
‘Improve’ in Availability of Finance is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table S6: Assessment and Expectation for Cost of Finance
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q3:22-23 40.7 54.7 4.6 -36.1 39.7 57.1 3.2 -36.5
Q4:22-23 36.7 60.1 3.2 -33.5 41.6 53.2 5.2 -36.5
Q1:23-24 42.1 49.6 8.3 -33.7 35.4 62.0 2.6 -32.8
Q2:23-24 39.0 52.1 8.9 -30.1 38.1 57.6 4.3 -33.7
Q3:23-24 36.5 59.3 4.2 -32.3 32.8 61.0 6.2 -26.6
Q4:23-24         38.1 58.2 3.7 -34.4
‘Decrease’ in Cost of Finance is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table S7: Assessment and Expectation for Salary/Wages
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q3:22-23 47.9 48.4 3.7 -44.2 42.4 56.0 1.6 -40.9
Q4:22-23 47.6 48.4 3.9 -43.7 43.3 52.1 4.6 -38.7
Q1:23-24 48.8 45.6 5.6 -43.2 45.9 46.7 7.5 -38.4
Q2:23-24 44.5 50.3 5.3 -39.2 46.4 52.0 1.6 -44.8
Q3:23-24 42.4 53.5 4.0 -38.4 33.6 62.3 4.1 -29.5
Q4:23-24         38.6 59.6 1.8 -36.8
‘Decrease’ in Salary/Wages is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table S8: Assessment and Expectation for Cost of Inputs
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q3:22-23 46.1 49.2 4.7 -41.4 49.4 45.6 4.9 -44.5
Q4:22-23 41.9 53.4 4.7 -37.2 50.1 44.5 5.3 -44.8
Q1:23-24 45.2 45.4 9.5 -35.7 43.8 53.6 2.7 -41.1
Q2:23-24 39.1 49.9 11.0 -28.1 47.0 46.8 6.1 -40.9
Q3:23-24 44.6 48.6 6.8 -37.9 32.1 57.9 9.9 -22.2
Q4:23-24         47.4 50.9 1.7 -45.7
‘Decrease’ in Cost of Inputs is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table S9: Assessment and Expectation for Selling Price
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q3:22-23 40.8 54.4 4.8 36.0 25.7 68.3 6.1 19.6
Q4:22-23 34.4 62.2 3.5 30.9 38.9 55.6 5.5 33.4
Q1:23-24 28.8 59.8 11.4 17.4 35.7 60.0 4.3 31.3
Q2:23-24 21.9 62.7 15.4 6.5 39.5 53.7 6.8 32.7
Q3:23-24 24.3 66.6 9.2 15.1 26.4 61.5 12.1 14.2
Q4:23-24         35.3 60.0 4.7 30.7
‘Increase’ in Selling Price is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table S10: Assessment and Expectation for Profit Margin
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q3:22-23 41.9 52.0 6.1 35.8 36.3 54.3 9.5 26.8
Q4:22-23 43.6 46.7 9.7 33.9 44.8 49.7 5.4 39.4
Q1:23-24 26.3 52.3 21.4 4.9 48.4 42.3 9.3 39.1
Q2:23-24 26.3 51.8 22.0 4.3 50.3 40.6 9.1 41.2
Q3:23-24 27.1 55.5 17.4 9.7 27.3 59.2 13.5 13.8
Q4:23-24         36.1 55.2 8.6 27.5
‘Increase’ in Profit Margin is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table S11: Assessment and Expectation for Inventories
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q3:22-23 48.3 46.9 4.8 43.5 40.5 56.8 2.7 37.8
Q4:22-23 38.1 58.1 3.8 34.2 48.8 46.0 5.2 43.5
Q1:23-24 30.4 58.8 10.8 19.6 38.6 57.7 3.7 34.8
Q2:23-24 30.2 56.2 13.6 16.5 40.3 54.3 5.4 34.8
Q3:23-24 29.6 62.9 7.5 22.2 34.5 53.9 11.6 22.9
Q4:23-24         34.2 60.0 5.8 28.3
‘Increase’ in Inventories is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table S12: Assessment and Expectation for Technical/Service Capacity
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q3:22-23 41.7 53.6 4.7 37.1 29.5 68.8 1.7 27.7
Q4:22-23 36.4 60.9 2.7 33.7 41.5 53.9 4.6 37.0
Q1:23-24 30.0 65.1 4.9 25.1 36.4 61.1 2.5 34.0
Q2:23-24 28.1 69.2 2.7 25.3 51.2 47.5 1.3 49.8
Q3:23-24 22.6 75.8 1.6 21.0 41.9 56.3 1.9 40.0
Q4:23-24         34.1 65.9 0.0 34.1
‘Increase’ in Technical/Service Capacity is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table S13: Assessment and Expectation for Physical Investment
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q3:22-23 41.3 54.4 4.3 37.0 22.8 75.8 1.5 21.3
Q4:22-23 32.2 65.5 2.3 30.0 41.4 53.9 4.7 36.7
Q1:23-24 26.9 66.8 6.3 20.7 33.0 64.3 2.7 30.3
Q2:23-24 30.7 66.1 3.1 27.6 43.4 54.8 1.8 41.5
Q3:23-24 21.7 76.6 1.6 20.1 23.3 75.8 0.9 22.3
Q4:23-24         32.2 67.8 0.0 32.2
‘Increase’ in Physical Investment is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Infrastructure Sector

Table I1: Assessment and Expectation for Overall Business Situation
(Percentage responses)@
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Better No Change Worse Net response# Better No Change Worse Net response
Q3:22-23 55.5 38.0 6.5 49.0 49.2 46.7 4.1 45.1
Q4:22-23 60.9 28.7 10.4 50.4 56.8 37.2 6.0 50.9
Q1:23-24 62.6 23.1 14.3 48.4 60.5 34.2 5.3 55.3
Q2:23-24 44.2 41.3 14.4 29.8 62.6 30.8 6.6 56.0
Q3:23-24 44.2 45.8 10.0 34.2 67.3 29.8 2.9 64.4
Q4:23-24         73.1 21.8 5.0 68.1
‘Increase’ in Overall business situation is optimistic.
@: Due to rounding off percentage may not add up to 100.
#: Net Response (NR) is the difference of percentage of the respondents reporting optimism and that reporting pessimism. The range is -100 to 100. Any value greater than zero indicates expansion/ optimism and any value less than zero indicates contraction/ pessimism.

Table I2: Assessment and Expectation for Turnover
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q3:22-23 52.6 40.2 7.2 45.4 56.1 35.0 8.9 47.2
Q4:22-23 60.9 27.0 12.2 48.7 55.8 37.2 7.0 48.8
Q1:23-24 64.8 19.8 15.4 49.5 61.4 32.5 6.1 55.3
Q2:23-24 46.2 39.4 14.4 31.7 61.1 33.3 5.6 55.6
Q3:23-24 47.9 40.3 11.8 36.1 53.8 42.3 3.8 50.0
Q4:23-24         75.6 22.7 1.7 73.9
‘Increase’ in Turnover is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table I3: Assessment and Expectation for Full-time Employees
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q3:22-23 51.2 42.3 6.5 44.7 36.4 57.0 6.6 29.8
Q4:22-23 47.0 47.8 5.2 41.7 52.4 40.7 6.9 45.5
Q1:23-24 46.7 40.0 13.3 33.3 50.9 44.7 4.4 46.5
Q2:23-24 28.8 58.7 12.5 16.3 48.9 48.9 2.2 46.7
Q3:23-24 32.5 57.3 10.3 22.2 42.3 54.8 2.9 39.4
Q4:23-24         63.2 34.2 2.6 60.7
‘Increase’ in Full-time Employees is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table I4: Assessment and Expectation for Part-time Employees
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q3:22-23 50.3 43.2 6.5 43.8 24.6 68.6 6.8 17.8
Q4:22-23 46.4 50.0 3.6 42.9 52.1 41.7 6.2 45.9
Q1:23-24 48.1 40.7 11.1 37.0 43.8 55.4 0.9 42.9
Q2:23-24 37.9 55.2 6.9 31.0 50.9 45.3 3.8 47.2
Q3:23-24 35.8 57.5 6.6 29.2 60.3 34.5 5.2 55.2
Q4:23-24         68.3 31.7 0.0 68.3
‘Increase’ in Part-time Employees is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table I5: Assessment and Expectation for Availability of Finance
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Improve No Change Worsen Net response Improve No Change Worsen Net response
Q3:22-23 50.5 43.7 5.8 44.7 43.4 50.8 5.7 37.7
Q4:22-23 45.1 49.6 5.3 39.8 52.2 41.9 5.8 46.4
Q1:23-24 28.9 54.4 16.7 12.2 46.8 50.5 2.7 44.1
Q2:23-24 36.5 52.9 10.6 26.0 51.1 43.3 5.6 45.6
Q3:23-24 36.7 57.5 5.8 30.8 46.6 49.5 3.9 42.7
Q4:23-24         63.0 35.3 1.7 61.3
‘Improve’ in Availability of Finance is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table I6: Assessment and Expectation for Cost of Finance
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q3:22-23 51.0 42.8 6.2 -44.9 47.5 46.7 5.8 -41.7
Q4:22-23 43.4 49.6 7.1 -36.3 49.7 44.5 5.8 -43.8
Q1:23-24 50.6 41.2 8.2 -42.4 43.8 53.6 2.7 -41.1
Q2:23-24 51.0 42.7 6.3 -44.8 44.0 53.6 2.4 -41.7
Q3:23-24 38.2 55.5 6.4 -31.8 54.2 45.8 0.0 -54.2
Q4:23-24         61.7 37.4 0.9 -60.7
‘Decrease’ in Cost of Finance is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table I7: Assessment and Expectation for Salary/Wages
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q3:22-23 56.3 39.2 4.4 -51.9 35.0 62.4 2.6 -32.5
Q4:22-23 47.0 49.6 3.5 -43.5 50.5 43.6 5.8 -44.7
Q1:23-24 40.7 56.0 3.3 -37.4 46.5 50.9 2.6 -43.9
Q2:23-24 42.7 50.5 6.8 -35.9 47.8 52.2 0.0 -47.8
Q3:23-24 44.9 50.8 4.2 -40.7 41.2 56.9 2.0 -39.2
Q4:23-24         59.8 39.3 0.9 -59.0
‘Decrease’ in Salary/Wages is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table I8: Assessment and Expectation for Cost of Inputs
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q3:22-23 52.2 41.6 6.2 -46.0 53.0 42.7 4.3 -48.7
Q4:22-23 46.9 50.4 2.7 -44.2 55.3 37.8 6.9 -48.5
Q1:23-24 47.7 47.7 4.5 -43.2 49.6 48.7 1.8 -47.8
Q2:23-24 50.0 45.1 4.9 -45.1 51.1 44.3 4.5 -46.6
Q3:23-24 52.1 43.6 4.3 -47.9 52.0 41.0 7.0 -45.0
Q4:23-24         59.1 37.4 3.5 -55.7
‘Decrease’ in Cost of Inputs is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table I9: Assessment and Expectation for Selling Price
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q3:22-23 51.4 41.8 6.8 44.5 32.2 62.6 5.2 27.0
Q4:22-23 46.8 48.6 4.5 42.3 50.3 43.1 6.6 43.8
Q1:23-24 29.3 63.4 7.3 22.0 43.5 53.7 2.8 40.7
Q2:23-24 33.7 53.3 13.0 20.7 43.4 54.2 2.4 41.0
Q3:23-24 37.0 54.0 9.0 28.0 42.4 53.3 4.3 38.0
Q4:23-24         62.0 36.0 2.0 60.0
‘Increase’ in Selling Price is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table I10: Assessment and Expectation for Profit Margin
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q3:22-23 52.2 40.1 7.6 44.6 34.7 47.1 18.2 16.5
Q4:22-23 46.0 44.2 9.7 36.3 52.8 39.6 7.6 45.1
Q1:23-24 36.7 38.9 24.4 12.2 47.3 45.5 7.1 40.2
Q2:23-24 24.5 58.8 16.7 7.8 46.1 48.3 5.6 40.4
Q3:23-24 35.0 55.0 10.0 25.0 37.3 56.9 5.9 31.4
Q4:23-24         56.3 36.1 7.6 48.7
‘Increase’ in Profit Margin is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table I11: Assessment and Expectation for Inventories
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q3:22-23 52.4 41.0 6.6 45.9 45.8 47.5 6.8 39.0
Q4:22-23 48.7 46.0 5.3 43.4 53.6 39.2 7.2 46.4
Q1:23-24 28.3 58.3 13.3 15.0 48.2 50.0 1.8 46.4
Q2:23-24 42.1 52.6 5.3 36.8 36.7 60.0 3.3 33.3
Q3:23-24 41.7 53.4 4.9 36.9 60.5 36.8 2.6 57.9
Q4:23-24         75.2 23.8 1.0 74.3
‘Increase’ in Inventories is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table I12: Assessment and Expectation for Technical/Service Capacity
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q3:22-23 50.2 43.9 6.0 44.2 27.7 70.5 1.8 25.9
Q4:22-23 45.9 50.5 3.7 42.2 50.5 43.5 6.0 44.6
Q1:23-24 35.7 59.5 4.8 31.0 45.0 53.2 1.8 43.1
Q2:23-24 38.3 59.6 2.1 36.2 51.2 48.8 0.0 51.2
Q3:23-24 39.8 55.9 4.3 35.5 66.7 33.3 0.0 66.7
Q4:23-24         75.0 25.0 0.0 75.0
‘Increase’ in Technical/Service Capacity is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

Table I13: Assessment and Expectation for Physical Investment
(Percentage responses)
Quarter Assessment Expectation
Increase No Change Decrease Net response Increase No Change Decrease Net response
Q3:22-23 49.7 44.1 6.3 43.4 26.9 70.4 2.8 24.1
Q4:22-23 45.9 50.5 3.7 42.2 49.8 43.6 6.6 43.2
Q1:23-24 37.1 52.9 10.0 27.1 43.9 52.3 3.7 40.2
Q2:23-24 38.0 58.2 3.8 34.2 36.8 60.3 2.9 33.8
Q3:23-24 35.8 60.0 4.2 31.6 46.8 53.2 0.0 46.8
Q4:23-24         75.3 24.7 0.0 75.3
‘Increase’ in Physical Investment is optimistic. Footnotes @ and # given in Table 1 are applicable here.

1 The survey results reflect the respondents’ views, which are not necessarily shared by the Reserve Bank. Results of the previous survey round were released on the Bank’s website on October 06, 2023.

2 Net Response (NR) is the difference between the percentage of respondents reporting optimism and those reporting pessimism. It ranges between -100 to 100. Positive value indicates expansion/optimism and negative value indicates contraction/pessimism. In other words, NR = (I – D); where, I is the percentage response of ‘Increase/optimism’, D is the percentage response of ‘Decrease/pessimism’ and E is the percentage response as ‘no change/ equal’ (i.e., I+D+E=100).  For example, increase in turnover is optimism whereas decrease in cost of inputs is optimism.

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