Manufacturing sector in India kicked off 2025 on a strong note, with the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) climbing to 57.7 in January as compared to 56.4 in December.
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Manufacturing sector in India kicked off 2025 on a strong note, with the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) climbing to 57.7 in January as compared to 56.4 in December.
This growth was largely driven by exports, which saw their fastest expansion in nearly 14 years, HSBC report said.
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The rise was fuelled by the steepest upturn in exports in nearly 14 years and by new orders which rose at the quickest pace since last July.
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The PMI figure was released by HSBC and compiled by S&P Global. “Cost pressures retreated to their weakest in 11 months, but selling prices rose solidly amid buoyant demand. Meanwhile, business confidence strengthened. January data also showed a pick-up in growth of buying levels and record job creation,” the survey said.
Pranjul Bhandari, chief Indian economist at HSBC, said that domestic and export demand were both strong, supporting new orders growth.
“The employment PMI suggested robust job creation in the manufacturing industry, as the index increased to its highest level since the series was created. Input cost inflation eased for a second month, relieving pressure on manufacturers to raise final output prices,” she added.
Further, the survey attributed the increase in new orders to better domestic demand and a pick-up in international sales. International demand for Indian goods strengthened in January, with panellists noting gains from across the globe.
Notably, the rate of expansion in new export orders was the best seen in just under 14 years.
On employment front, the survey noted that robust sales gains and upbeat forecasts prompted companies to recruit additional workers at the start of the fourth fiscal quarter.
The extent to which employment expanded was the greatest seen in nearly 20 years of data collection.
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