Today, the Reserve Bank released the results of the 58th round of the quarterly Order Books, Inventories and Capacity Utilisation Survey (OBICUS), which provides a snapshot of demand conditions in India’s manufacturing sector¹ during April-June 2022. The survey covered 734 manufacturing companies.

Highlights:

• At the aggregate level, the capacity utilisation (CU) for the manufacturing sector recorded seasonal decline to 72.4 per cent in Q1:2022-23 from 75.3 per cent in the previous quarter. (Chart 1 and Table 1)

• The seasonally adjusted CU increased to 74.3 per cent in Q1:2022-23 from 73.0 per cent in Q4:2021-22.

• Manufacturing companies have been receiving higher new orders; Sequential (q-o-q) growth for the last four successive quarters have been positive as the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been waned over the period (Chart 2 and Table 2A)

• The raw material inventory (RMI) to sales ratio increased during Q1:2022-23 consistent with improving demand conditions; finished goods inventory (FGI) to sales ratio has remained stable, barring the period, which was majorly affected by the pandemic-related restrictions. (Chart 3 and Table 3A)

Note- Please see the excel file for time series data.

ANNEX 1: Data Tables

Note: The computations of order book growths and inventory to sales ratios are based on methodology given in the RBI press release dated October 8, 2021 (link: https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/PublicationsView.aspx?id=20650) and not on the basis of averages given in the above tables.

¹ The survey responses are voluntary. Results of the previous survey round were released on the Bank’s website on August 05, 2022.