Today, the Reserve Bank released the results of its 72nd round of the quarterly Order Books, Inventories, and Capacity Utilisation Survey (OBICUS), which was conducted during Q4:2025-26 and covered 1057 manufacturing companies. The survey1 provides a snapshot of the demand conditions in India’s manufacturing sector during October-December 2025. Highlights: -
At the aggregate level, capacity utilisation (CU) in the manufacturing sector increased to 75.6 per cent in Q3:2025-26 from 74.3 per cent in the previous quarter. The seasonally adjusted CU (CU-SA) increased by 60 basis points from the previous quarter and stood at 75.5 per cent in Q3:2025-26. Both CU and CU-SA for Q3:2025-26 increased by 20 basis points as compared to their levels in the corresponding quarter of the previous year (Chart 1 and Table 1). Note- Please see the excel file for time series data.
ANNEX 1: Data Tables | Table 1: Capacity Utilisation | | Quarter | Number of responding companies | Capacity Utilisation | Seasonally Adjusted Capacity Utilisation | | Q3:2024-25 | 959 | 75.4 | 75.3 | | Q4:2024-25 | 960 | 77.7 | 75.5 | | Q1:2025-26 | 887 | 74.1 | 75.8 | | Q2:2025-26 | 1007 | 74.3 | 74.9 | | Q3:2025-26 | 980 | 75.6 | 75.5 | | Note: The Seasonally Adjusted Capacity Utilisation is calculated using X13-ARIMA-SEATS (Signal Extraction in ARIMA Time Series) taking the Covid-19 lockdown quarter Q1:2020-21 as an additive outlier. |
| Table 2A: Order Books Growth | | Quarter | Number of responding companies | Q-o-Q Growth # (per cent) | Y-o-Y Growth # (per cent) | | Backlog Orders | New Order Book | Pending Orders | Backlog Orders | New Order Book | Pending Orders | | Q3:2024-25 | 315 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 12.7 | 8.6 | 13.2 | | Q4:2024-25 | 353 | 0.7 | 7.9 | -0.2 | 6.7 | 7.4 | 7.8 | | Q1:2025-26 | 385 | -0.3 | -4.6 | 3.3 | 9.0 | 7.3 | 7.2 | | Q2:2025-26 | 419 | 2.5 | 6.5 | -0.7 | 10.7 | 8.0 | 3.3 | | Q3:2025-26 | 409 | -0.1 | 5.5 | 2.7 | -0.1 | 10.3 | 3.9 | | #: Growth rates are calculated using common set of companies responding in three survey rounds, namely the current quarter, one quarter ago and the corresponding quarter a year ago. |
| Table 2B: Average Size of Order Books | | Quarter | Number of responding companies | Average Amount (₹ crore) | | Backlog Orders | New Order Book | Pending Orders | | Q3:2024-25 | 315 | 232.9 | 225.8 | 238.5 | | Q4:2024-25 | 353 | 302.4 | 317.0 | 303.9 | | Q1:2025-26 | 385 | 331.1 | 324.2 | 342.1 | | Q2:2025-26 | 419 | 376.1 | 325.9 | 373.9 | | Q3:2025-26 | 409 | 246.7 | 259.5 | 253.8 |
| Table 3A: Inventory to Sales Ratios | | Quarter | Number of responding companies | Ratio (per cent) ## | | Total Inventory / Sales | Finished Goods Inventory / Sales | Raw Material Inventory / Sales | | Q3:2024-25 | 907 | 69.4 | 24.3 | 25.5 | | Q4:2024-25 | 932 | 66.5 | 24.7 | 23.4 | | Q1:2025-26 | 894 | 72.1 | 26.2 | 27.4 | | Q2:2025-26 | 1014 | 61.7 | 25.2 | 20.5 | | Q3:2025-26 | 987 | 66.7 | 23.1 | 24.5 | | ##: Weighted average of industry level ratios using Gross Value Added as weights. |
| Table 3B: Average Sales and Inventories | | Quarter | Number of responding companies | Average Amount (₹ crore) | | Sales | Total Inventory | Finished Goods Inventory | Work in progress Inventory | Raw Material Inventory | | Q3:2024-25 | 907 | 1182.4 | 496.4 | 175.8 | 94.8 | 171.5 | | Q4:2024-25 | 932 | 1309.4 | 508.8 | 187.4 | 111.0 | 156.1 | | Q1:2025-26 | 894 | 886.5 | 505.1 | 188.2 | 100.2 | 170.9 | | Q2:2025-26 | 1014 | 1120.1 | 568.2 | 229.4 | 116.4 | 174.1 | | Q3:2025-26 | 987 | 1181.4 | 535.8 | 190.1 | 122.2 | 178.0 | 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.
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