Consumer sentiment in India eased for the third consecutive month in November largely due to a sharp fall in expectations of business conditions in a Year's time, a report says.
Consumer sentiment had picked up in the run up to the general election earlier in the year, but has failed to maintain the momentum.
The MNI India Consumer Indicator fell by 2.8 points to 120.9 in November from 123.7 in October, the lowest in 13 months.
"The Modi government has been in office for six months, but there has so far been little lasting positive impact on consumer sentiment. Policy action may eventually feed through, although for now the outlook remains reasonably subdued," MNI Indicators Chief Economist Philip Uglow said,
Asked about the impact of government policy on their standard of living, 38 per cent of respondents said they had been unaffected as the government had not yet implemented any major policies, while just under 30 per cent of respondents said they benefited from the new government's policies.
The report said many respondents praised Modi's vision for India and were supportive of welfare schemes like Jan Dhan Yojna. Additionally, a significant portion of respondents were pleased that food and fuel inflation was falling.
"Good news for the central bank was that inflation expectations fell to a new record low in November. This will help the RBI to ease monetary policy in the first half of 2015."
RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan in its December 2 policy review kept interest rate unchanged, saying a shift in stance is 'premature' but hinted that a cut may come early next year if inflation continues to ease and government acts on the fiscal side.
