India’s manufacturing industry extended its growth streak in April, posting its strongest performance in 10 months, driven by robust demand and a surge in new orders both at home and abroad.According to the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), the headline reading inched up to 58.2 from 58.1 in March, signalling a sharp and accelerated improvement in business conditions.
The latest print, while a marginal uptick, reflects the fastest growth in factory output since June 2024, underpinned by buoyant sales and widespread expansion across sub-sectors—most notably among consumer goods makers.
A key highlight of the April survey was the second-fastest increase in international orders since March 2011, with firms reporting higher demand from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas. This contributed to a notable rise in total sales and pushed up purchasing activity and employment levels across the sector.
“New order inflows, including from overseas, were instrumental in lifting production volumes. The pace of growth was little changed from March but remained one of the strongest recorded in the past nine months,” the report said. The strength of this demand also led to the highest accumulation of backlogs in over a year.Manufacturers responded by hiring more staff—9% of firms surveyed added workers in April, with many offering both permanent and temporary contracts. Job creation was described as historically strong.Rising demand gave Indian manufacturers greater pricing power, prompting them to hike selling prices at the steepest rate since October 2013. This came despite a modest uptick in input costs, with inflation for raw materials such as steel, paper, rubber and transport remaining moderate compared to output charges.Stocks of purchases grew at their fastest pace since August 2024, indicating confidence in future demand. However, post-production inventories fell at the quickest pace in nearly three-and-a-half years, suggesting that goods were moving quickly to market.Vendor performance also improved, with supplier delivery times shortening slightly—the most since January—amid reduced capacity pressures.Manufacturers have expressed strong optimism for the year, citing enhanced marketing, operational efficiency, and rising enquiries from new clients as key factors supporting a positive outlook.
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