Today, the Reserve Bank released the results of its 73rd round of the quarterly Order Books, Inventories, and Capacity Utilisation Survey (OBICUS), which was conducted during Q1:2026-27 and covered 1127 manufacturing companies. The survey1 provides a snapshot of the demand conditions in India’s manufacturing sector during January-March 2026. Highlights: - At the aggregate level, capacity utilisation (CU) in the manufacturing sector increased to 77.4 per cent in Q4:2025-26 from 75.6 per cent in the previous quarter. The seasonally adjusted CU (CU-SA) decreased by 30 basis points from the previous quarter and stood at 75.2 per cent in Q4:2025-26. Both CU and CU-SA for Q4:2025-26 decreased by 30 basis points as compared to their levels in the corresponding quarter of the previous year (Chart 1 and Table 1).
- Manufacturers reported lower growth in new orders during Q4:2025-26 both on an annual (y-o-y) and sequential basis (q-o-q) (Chart 2 and Table 2A).
Note- Please see the excel file for time series data.
ANNEX 1: Data Tables | Table 1: Capacity Utilisation | | Quarter | Number of responding companies | Capacity Utilisation (per cent) | Seasonally Adjusted Capacity Utilisation (per cent) | | Q4:2024-25 | 960 | 77.7 | 75.5 | | Q1:2025-26 | 887 | 74.1 | 75.8 | | Q2:2025-26 | 1007 | 74.3 | 74.9 | | Q3:2025-26 | 980 | 75.6 | 75.5 | | Q4:2025-26 | 1041 | 77.4 | 75.2 | | Note: The Seasonally Adjusted Capacity Utilisation is calculated using X13-ARIMA-SEATS (Signal Extraction in ARIMA Time Series) taking the Covid-19 lockdown quarter Q1:2020-21 as an additive outlier. |
| Table 2A: Order Books Growth | | Quarter | Number of responding companies | Q-o-Q Growth # (per cent) | Y-o-Y Growth # (per cent) | | Backlog Orders | New Order Book | Pending Orders | Backlog Orders | New Order Book | Pending Orders | | Q4:2024-25 | 353 | 0.7 | 7.9 | -0.2 | 6.7 | 7.4 | 7.8 | | Q1:2025-26 | 385 | -0.3 | -4.6 | 3.3 | 9.0 | 7.3 | 7.2 | | Q2:2025-26 | 419 | 2.5 | 6.5 | -0.7 | 10.7 | 8.0 | 3.3 | | Q3:2025-26 | 409 | -0.1 | 5.5 | 2.7 | -0.1 | 10.3 | 3.9 | | Q4:2025-26 | 422 | 2.0 | 2.9 | 2.2 | 5.8 | 4.0 | 7.3 | | #: Growth rates are calculated using common set of companies responding in three survey rounds, namely the current quarter, one quarter ago and the corresponding quarter a year ago. |
| Table 2B: Average Size of Order Books | | Quarter | Number of responding companies | Average Amount (₹ crore) | | Backlog Orders | New Order Book | Pending Orders | | Q4:2024-25 | 353 | 302.4 | 317.0 | 303.9 | | Q1:2025-26 | 385 | 331.1 | 324.2 | 342.1 | | Q2:2025-26 | 419 | 376.1 | 325.9 | 373.9 | | Q3:2025-26 | 409 | 246.7 | 259.5 | 253.8 | | Q4:2025-26 | 422 | 306.7 | 299.7 | 330.4 |
| Table 3A: Inventory to Sales Ratios | | Quarter | Number of responding companies | Ratio (per cent) ## | | Total Inventory / Sales | Finished Goods Inventory / Sales | Raw Material Inventory / Sales | | Q4:2024-25 | 932 | 66.5 | 24.7 | 23.4 | | Q1:2025-26 | 894 | 72.1 | 26.2 | 27.4 | | Q2:2025-26 | 1014 | 61.7 | 25.2 | 20.5 | | Q3:2025-26 | 987 | 66.7 | 23.1 | 24.5 | | Q4:2025-26 | 1057 | 62.1 | 21.0 | 23.9 | | ##: Weighted average of industry level ratios using Gross Value Added as weights. |
| Table 3B: Average Sales and Inventories | | Quarter | Number of responding companies | Average Amount (₹ crore) | | Sales | Total Inventory | Finished Goods Inventory | Work in progress Inventory | Raw Material Inventory | | Q4:2024-25 | 932 | 1309.4 | 508.8 | 187.4 | 111.0 | 156.1 | | Q1:2025-26 | 894 | 886.5 | 505.1 | 188.2 | 100.2 | 170.9 | | Q2:2025-26 | 1014 | 1120.1 | 568.2 | 229.4 | 116.4 | 174.1 | | Q3:2025-26 | 987 | 1181.4 | 535.8 | 190.1 | 122.2 | 178.0 | | Q4:2025-26 | 1057 | 1396.6 | 577.2 | 200.0 | 128.7 | 200.4 | Note: The methodology for computations of order book growth and inventory to sales ratios is given in the RBI press release dated October 8, 2021 (link: https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/PublicationsView.aspx?id=20650). Please also see footnote 2 on direct estimation of RMI since 53rd round of the survey.
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