India’s manufacturing activity dropped in April due to the nationwide lockdown announced by the PM Narendra Modi in the wake of coronavirus, revealed a survey.
The Nikkei Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, compiled by IHS Markit, declined to 27.4 in April from 51.8 in March, indicating the sharpest fall in business conditions around the sector since data collection started over 15 years ago.
It reveals expansion when the figure is higher 50 on the index on the other hand lower 50 indicates contraction.
“April data pointed to an unprecedented contraction in Indian manufacturing output. The result came amid national lockdown restrictions to help stem the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 which in turn led to widespread business closures,” IHS Markit said in the survey report.
The survey keeps a track of new orders, output, jobs, suppliers’ delivery time, and stocks of purchases for around 400 manufacturers.
According to the survey, in this uncertain time, the demand fell that leads to a reduction in staff.
“After making it through March relatively unscathed, the Indian manufacturing sector felt the full force of the coronavirus pandemic in April,” said Eliot Kerr, economist, IHS Markit.
“Meanwhile, there was evidence of unprecedented supply-side disruption, with input delivery times lengthening to the greatest extent since data collection began in March 2005,” he added.
