India Manufacturing PMI for the month of March came in at a 7-month low of 55.4 as against 57.5 in February, a monthly survey said on Monday. This drop was constrained by the escalation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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However, the latest reading was indicative of a substantial improvement in the health of the sector that outpaced the long-run series average, it said.

In PMI parlance, a print above 50 means expansion while a score below 50 denotes contraction.

”Production, new orders and input buying expanded at softer rates,” said Pollyanna De Lima, Economics Associate Director at IHS Markit.

Lima further noted that ”survey participants indicated that demand growth was constrained by the escalation of the COVID-19 pandemic, while the rise in input buying was curtailed by an intensification of cost pressures.”

”With COVID-19 restrictions expanded and lockdown measures re-introduced in many states, Indian manufacturers look set to experience a challenging month in April,” Lima said.

India recorded an all-time high of 1,03,558 coronavirus infections in a day pushing the nationwide COVID-19 tally to 1,25,89,067, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Monday. The survey noted that employment declined in March, taking the current sequence of job shedding to a year.

-With inputs from Reuters

First Published:Apr 5, 2021 11:12 AM IST