Firms reporting ‘somewhat less than normal’ sales sharply increase to 33%: IIM-A report

By A Representative

The Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad's (IIM-A's) Business Inflation Expectations Survey (BIES),which seeks to provide ways to examine the amount of slack in the economy by polling a panel of business leaders, has said that the cost perceptions data "clearly indicates moderation in cost pressures."

"The percentage of firms perceiving over 10% cost increase y-o-y has further declined. Over 19% of the firms in October 2022 round of the survey perceive that costs have increased very significantly (over 10%) – down from 21% recorded in September 2022", the survey noted.

It added, "With moderation in cost pressures, profit margins expectations have improved sharply. Over 26% of the participating firms in October 2022 perceive profit margins are ‘somewhat or much greater than normal’ – significantly up from 5% reported in September 2022."
Based on the responses of over 1,000 companies, the report, however, regrets, "Firms’ sales expectations are seen to have subdued. Percentage of firms reporting ‘somewhat less than normal’ sales has sharply increased to 33% in October 2022, from 24% reported in September 2022. Around 25% of the firms in October 2022 report that sales are ‘about normal’, down from 27% reported in September 2022."

Claiming to be a unique survey in that it goes straight to businesses -- the price setters -- rather than to consumers or households, to understand their expectations of the price level changes, and conducted every month at the Misra Centre for Financial Markets and Economy, IIM-A, the report said, "One year ahead business inflation expectations have remained unchanged around 4.76% during September-October 2022.
"The uncertainty of business inflation expectations in October 2022, as captured by the square root of the average variance of the individual probability distribution of unit cost increase, has further increased to 2.16%", it added.

Gujarat Sachivalaya blacklists, denies entry to woman social activist: Will NHRC probe?

By Kantilal Parmar* I have approached the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) seeking an independent, impartial, and transparent investigation into a serious incident that took place at the Gujarat Secretariat in Gandhinagar on August 18, 2026. The matter concerns social activist and women’s rights leader Chandrikaben Solanki, who, according to the information available to me, was denied an entry pass to the Secretariat when she went there to meet Gujarat’s Social Justice and Empowerment Minister, Dr. Manishaben Vakil, to raise an issue concerning social justice.

Ample evidence of child labour in South Gujarat's cash rich sugarcane belt: Study

By Rajiv Shah A recent German government-funded study , undertaken jointly by the NGO Prayas Centre for Labour Research and Action and the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, which mainly deals examines the working conditions of migrant workers in the cash-rich sugarcane zone of South Gujarat, has gone a long way to suggest large scale prevalence of child labour during the harvesting season.

Tibetan activist’s self-immolation sparks fresh concerns over cultural rights

By Kumar Krishnan* The question of Tibet has once again entered international discourse, raising difficult questions about human rights, religious freedom, cultural identity, language, and the relationship between political power and the rights of indigenous communities. On 20 August 2026, the Kashag and the Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile jointly organised a solidarity prayer service and peace march to mark the 49th day since the death of Lobga Rangzen, a Tibetan activist who died after self-immolating on 2 July in front of the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Counterview

Search This Blog