Bengaluru: Business sentiment shot up by 41% during the July-September quarter from a record low in the previous quarter, according to the Business Expectation Survey conducted by the National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER), reports Economic Times.

The think tank’s Business Confidence Index (BCI) rose to 65.5 in the second quarter after recording a massive drop to 46.4 in the first quarter of the ongoing fiscal, according to a NCAER statement released on Monday.

However, this was still 36.5% below last year’s levels and the 77.3 seen in the final quarter of FY20, it said.

Covering around 600 firms across sectors, geographies and sizes, the BCI surveys four aspects including economic conditions, financial position, investment climate and capacity utilisation.

The survey found positive growth in sentiments on three aspects, with the largest improvement in capacity utilisation. About 58% stated that levels were either close to or above optimal in September as compared to 37% in July.

On the other hand, the share of respondents who felt that the investment climate was better compared to the past six months marginally dropped to 14% from 15% in the previous quarter.

In terms of sectors, the BCI increased by a substantial 89% in the intermediate goods category, followed by 44% for consumer non-durables, 39% for consumer durables, 36% for capital goods and 32% for the services sector.

Similarly large growth disparities were reported region-wise, with the BCI improving 136% in the west, as represented by Mumbai and Pune, while the South, represented by Bengaluru and Chennai, saw an 80% increase on a quarterly basis.