After losing growth traction at the end of 2025, Indian goods producers reported faster increases in new orders, output, employment and buying levels during January. Input prices rose to the greatest extent in four months, albeit one that was negligible by historical standards, while charge inflation eased further. Stock trends were mixed, with holdings of finished items falling as orders were often fulfilled from warehouses and pre-production inventories expanding due to input purchasing growth.
Rising from a two-year low of 55.0 in December to 55.4 in January, the seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) – a gauge of overall conditions derived from measures of new orders, output, employment, supplier delivery times and stocks of purchases – indicated a stronger improvement in the health of the sector. The PMI came in below the flash estimate released in late-January (56.8), but remained above its long-run average. Granular data showed consumer goods as the brightest area of India's manufacturing industry, with the slowest improvement in operating conditions seen in capital goods.