Sentiments in India’s manufacturing remain positive in 2023-24, reveals FICCI survey

New Delhi [India], July 17 : India’s manufacturing sector has remained positive during the first quarter of 2023-24 (April-June) despite global headwinds, industry body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry's (FICCI) latest quarterly survey revealed. 

The survey found that the growth momentum in the Indian economy has continued after the post-pandemic revival in 2021-22.

FICCI’s quarterly survey assessed the sentiments of manufacturers in nine major sectors automotive and auto components, capital goods and construction equipment, cement, chemicals fertilizers and pharmaceuticals, electronics and white goods, machine tools, metal and metal products, textiles, apparel and technical textiles, toys and handicrafts and miscellaneous. 

Responses were drawn from over 400 manufacturing units from both large and small and medium-sized enterprises segments with a combined annual turnover of over Rs 7.70 lakh crores.

The survey found the existing average capacity utilization in the manufacturing sector is around 75 per cent, which reflects sustained economic activity in the sector and is the same as reported in the previous quarter.

The future investment outlook has also improved as compared to the previous quarter as over 56 per cent of respondents, FICCI said, reported plans for investments and expansions in the coming six months. This is an improvement over the previous survey where 47 per cent reported plans for investments in the next six months.

Globally, economic slowdown caused by the recessionary fears in the US, EU and other developed nations coupled with the Russia-Ukraine conflict continue to add to volatilities in the supply chain as well as demand.

The respondents to which FICCI reached out, at the same time, also listed high raw material prices, increased cost of finance, high logistics cost due to high fuel prices, low global demand, high volume of cheap imports into India, highly volatile prices of certain metals among major constraints which are affecting some of their expansion plans.

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