India's business confidence "down" by 4.1% in Q4 2015, profits by 8.3%, new orders by 7.3% on y-to-y basis

By A Representative
A top business rating company has said that India's business confidence, for the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2015 has continued to fall, with “optimism value for net profits” declining by by 8.3% and “new orders” by 7.2% on “year to year” basis. It added, the composite business optimism index, at 122.0 during Q4 2015, decreased of 4.1% as compared to Q3 2015.
Dun & Bradstreet (D&B), which is considered the world’s leading source of global business information, said, this result is “based on the responses received” by it, adding, the assessment is also based on the “the political stalemate witnessed in Parliament on two critical pieces of legislation – the Land Acquisition Act and the Goods and Services Tax Bill.
D&B has suggested that failure to break the Parliament stalemate by the Modi government is reflected in its inability “to go ahead with its reform commitments”, denting “business confidence”.
D&B adds, “That apart, monsoon deficiency, weak new investment demand and rising global financial market volatility also operated as binding constraints on business sentiment.”
Dr Arun Singh, senior economist with the D&B, clarifies, “The index does not capture the impact of rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of India as the announcement was made post the survey period.”
He adds, “For business confidence to get a sharp boost, it is pertinent for the Government to shift up several gears from the slow drip-feed of reforms to targeted measures that are aimed at encouraging investment and correcting structural deficiencies in the economy.” Dr Singh says, “Going forward, the effectiveness of supply management measures to contain the impact of deficient monsoon would also play a crucial role in shaping business sentiment.”
The D&B business optimism index is widely claimed to recognise as a reliable indicator “which measures the pulse of the business community and serves as a reliable benchmark for investors. The index is arrived at on the basis of a quarterly survey of business expectations”, a communique issued by the D&B says.
The survey was conducted on a sample of companies that were selected randomly from D&B’s commercial credit file.
“The sample selected is a microcosmic representation of the country’s business community and includes companies from several sectors including basic goods, capital goods, intermediate goods, consumer durables, consumer non-durables and service sectors”, the communique adds.
Respondents to the survey were asked six standard questions regarding whether specified parameters viz., net sales, net profits, selling prices, new orders, inventories and employee levels, will register an increase, decline or show no change in the ensuing quarter as compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The indices were then calculated by subtracting the percentage of respondents expecting decreases from those expecting increases.
Customers are known use D&B risk management solutions to mitigate risk, increase cash flow and drive increased profitability. The company's sales and marketing solutions analyses markets, locate prospects and increase revenue from new and existing customers.
“In 2014, D&B featured on the World’s Most Ethical Companies list in the Business Services category by Ethisphere, for the sixth consecutive year”, the communique said.

Comments

Academics urge Azim Premji University to drop FIR against Student Reading Circle

By A Representative A group of academics and civil society members has issued an open letter to the leadership of Azim Premji University expressing concern over the filing of a police complaint that led to an FIR against a student-run reading circle following a recent incident of violence on campus. The signatories state that they hold the university in high regard for its commitment to constitutional values, critical inquiry and ethical public engagement, and argue that it is precisely because of this reputation that the present development is troubling.

Was Netaji forced to alter face, die in obscurity in USSR in 1975? Was he so meek?

By Rajiv Shah This should sound almost hilarious. Not only did Subhas Chandra Bose not die in a plane crash in Taipei, nor was he the mysterious Gumnami Baba who reportedly passed away on 16 September 1985 in Ayodhya, but we are now told that he actually died in 1975—date unknown—“in oblivion” somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Which city? Moscow? No one seems to know.

UAPA action against Telangana activist: Criminalising legitimate democratic activity?

By A Representative The National Investigation Agency's Hyderabad branch has issued notices to more than ten individuals in Telangana in connection with FIR No. RC-04/2025. Those served include activists, former student leaders, civil rights advocates, poets, writers, retired schoolteachers, and local leaders associated with the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Indian National Congress.

The ultimate all-time ODI XI: A personal selection of icons across eras

By Harsh Thakor* This is my all-time best XI chosen for ODI (One Day International) cricket: 1. Adam Gilchrist (W) – The absolute master blaster who could create the impact of exploding gunpowder with his electrifying strokeplay. No batsman was more intimidating in his era. Often his knocks decided the fate of games as though the result were premeditated. He escalated batting strike rates to surreal realms.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Aligning too closely with U.S., allies, India’s silence on IRIS Dena raises troubling questions

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The reported sinking of the Iranian ship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka raises troubling questions about international norms and the credibility of the so-called rule-based order. If indeed the vessel was attacked by the American Navy while returning from a joint exercise in Visakhapatnam, it would represent a serious breach of trust and a violation of the principles that govern such cooperative engagements. Warships participating in these exercises are generally not armed for combat; they are meant to symbolize solidarity and friendship. The incident, therefore, is not only shocking but also deeply ironic.

Asbestos contamination in children’s products highlights global oversight gaps

By A Representative A commentary published by the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) has drawn attention to the challenges governments face in responding effectively to global public-health risks. In an article written by Laurie Kazan-Allen and published on March 5, 2026, the author examines how the discovery of asbestos contamination in children’s play products has raised questions about regulatory oversight and international product safety. The article opens by reflecting on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that governments in several countries were slow to respond to early warning signs of the crisis. Referring to the experience of the United Kingdom, the author writes that delays in implementing protective measures contributed to “232,112 recorded deaths and over a million people suffering from long Covid.” The commentary uses this example to illustrate what it describes as the dangers of underestimating emerging threats. Attention then turns...

The kitchen as prison: A feminist elegy for domestic slavery

By Garima Srivastava* Kumar Ambuj stands as one of the most incisive voices in contemporary Hindi poetry. His work, stripped of ornamentation, speaks directly to the lived realities of India’s marginalized—women, the rural poor, and those crushed under invisible forms of violence. His celebrated poem “Women Who Cook” (Khānā Banātī Striyāṃ) is not merely about food preparation; it is a searing indictment of patriarchal domestic structures that reduce women’s existence to endless, unpaid labour.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Search This Blog