Order Books, Inventories and Capacity Utilisation Survey on the Manufacturing sector for Q4:2025-26

Today, the Reserve Bank released the results of its 73rd round of the quarterly Order Books, Inventories, and Capacity Utilisation Survey (OBICUS), which was conducted during Q1:2026-27 and covered 1127 manufacturing companies. The survey¹ provides a snapshot of the demand conditions in India’s manufacturing sector during January-March 2026.

Highlights:

• At the aggregate level, capacity utilisation (CU) in the manufacturing sector increased to 77.4 per cent in Q4:2025-26 from 75.6 per cent in the previous quarter. The seasonally adjusted CU (CU-SA) decreased by 30 basis points from the previous quarter and stood at 75.2 per cent in Q4:2025-26. Both CU and CU-SA for Q4:2025-26 decreased by 30 basis points as compared to their levels in the corresponding quarter of the previous year (Chart 1 and Table 1).

• Manufacturers reported lower growth in new orders during Q4:2025-26 both on an annual (y-o-y) and sequential basis (q-o-q) (Chart 2 and Table 2A).

• As a ratio to sales, both finished goods inventory (FGI) and raw material inventory (RMI) declined marginally during Q4:2025-26 (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 April 08, 2026.