Today, the Reserve Bank released the results of its 68th round of the quarterly Order Books, Inventories, and Capacity Utilisation Survey (OBICUS), which was conducted during Q4:2024-25 and covered 1,032 manufacturing companies. The survey¹ provides a snapshot of the demand conditions in India’s manufacturing sector during October-December 2024.

Highlights:

• At the aggregate level, capacity utilisation (CU) in the manufacturing sector increased to 75.4 per cent in Q3:2024-25, from 74.2 per cent in the previous quarter. The seasonally adjusted CU (CU-SA) increased by 60 basis points from the previous quarter and stands at 75.3 per cent in Q3:2024-25. Both CU and CU-SA for Q3:2024-05 are higher compared to their levels in the corresponding quarter of the previous year (Chart 1 and Table 1).

• Manufacturers reported higher growth in new orders during Q3:2024-25 on both sequential (q-o-q) and annual (y-o-y) basis (Chart 2 and Table 2A).

• As a ratio to sales, the raw material inventory² (RMI) remained stable while the finished goods inventory (FGI) decreased marginally during Q3:2024-25 (Chart 3 and Table 3A).

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

ANNEX 1: Data Tables

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.

¹ The survey responses are voluntary, and the results reflect the views of the respondents, which are not necessarily shared by the Reserve Bank. Results of the previous survey round were released on the Bank’s website on February 07, 2025.

² The estimates of raw materials inventory (including stores and spares, loose tools, stock-in-trade, and other inventories) were arrived at by netting out finished goods inventory and work-in-progress inventory from total inventory. Since the 53rd round of the survey (i.e., Q4:2020−21), however, direct data on raw material inventory (excluding stores and spares, loose tools, stock-in-trade, and other inventories) are also being collected from survey respondents, in parallel. Estimates of raw materials inventory based on the additional reporting are presented here.