Business confidence in India remained resilient in the first half of FY27 despite the West Asia crisis, elevated energy prices, inflation and rupee depreciation, with ASSOCHAM's newly launched Business Confidence Index recording an average year-on-year growth of 5.6% during April-September 2026.
The ASSOCHAM Business Confidence (ABC) Index stood at 128.25 in September, up 8% from 118.72 in the same month last year. The index uses April 2023 as its base month, with a base value of 100.
The September reading also marked an improvement from 127.69 in August and was close to the index's all-time high of 129.74 recorded in April 2026.
The industry body said business confidence held steady despite several global and domestic headwinds, including the conflict in West Asia, high energy prices, inflation and depreciation of the rupee.
The index's year-on-year growth moderated during the first three months of FY27 before picking up sharply in July. It grew 4.8% in April, 2.3% in May and 2.1% in June before accelerating to 7.2% in July, 8.8% in August and 8% in September.
On average, the index grew 5.6% year-on-year during April-September FY27. This compares with full-year growth of 7.5% in FY25 and 9.9% in FY26.
ASSOCHAM launched the ABC Index as a composite measure of India's business and economic conditions, combining 20 indicators spanning consumption, financial markets, industrial activity, inflation, credit, trade and the broader macroeconomy.
The indicators include GST collections, passenger vehicle sales, the Sensex, India Composite Purchasing Managers' Index, exports, Index of Industrial Production, Index of Core Industries, consumer and wholesale price inflation, bank credit, digital payments, foreign exchange reserves and gross foreign direct investment.
The index also tracks the exchange rate, repo rate, real GDP growth, unemployment, current account deficit, fiscal deficit and feedback on the impact of economic reforms.
"The ABC Index is a composite index of India’s economic pulse, bringing together 20 key indicators to track whether economic conditions are improving, weakening, or remaining stable. The Index will give businesses, policymakers and investors a broader view of the evolving economic environment and support more informed decision-making," said Shri Nirmal Kumar Minda, President, ASSOCHAM.
Among the 20 indicators, bank credit carries the highest weight at 7.87%, followed by feedback on economic reforms at 7.69%, digital payment volumes at 7.68% and the exchange rate at 7.20%.
Consumer Price Index inflation has a weight of 7.03%, while the repo rate carries 6.50%. The Index of Industrial Production has a weight of 6.29%, fiscal deficit 6.20% and exports 6.02%.
Foreign exchange reserves account for 5.90% of the index, followed by Wholesale Price Index inflation at 5.65% and the Index of Core Industries at 5.41%.
GST collections and passenger vehicle sales carry weights of 4.19% and 4.12%, respectively. The remaining indicators include the India Composite PMI, Sensex, gross FDI, current account deficit, unemployment and real GDP growth.
"The ABC Index provides a structured assessment of the evolving business and economic environment by bringing together key indicators to capture underlying business momentum and emerging trends, supporting informed decision-making by industry and policymakers," said Shri Saurabh Sanyal, Secretary General, ASSOCHAM.
"The ABC Index has been developed to provide a consolidated view of economic momentum by integrating movements across key indicators and enabling more effective tracking of changing economic conditions, supporting a more informed assessment of the business outlook," said Dr S. P. Sharma, Chief Economist, ASSOCHAM.
ASSOCHAM said the index would be refined further based on suggestions from industry participants and analysts.
The industry body plans to release the monthly index value on the last working day of October, November and December 2026. From January 2027, the ABC Index is scheduled to move to a fortnightly release cycle.
