The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index fell from 56.6 in November to 55.0 in December.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Expansion in India’s manufacturing performance slowed to a two-year low in December 2025, with the rate of new business orders, production, and employment growth all slowing, according to a private sector survey.
The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index fell from 56.6 in November to 55.0 in December. The last time it was lower was in December 2023, when the index value had touched 54.9.
“The end of the 2025 calendar year was characterised by a loss of growth momentum across several measures tracked by the HSBC India Manufacturing PMI survey,” the report said. “Positive demand trends continued to underpin sharp increases in new business intakes and production, but rates of expansion eased on the back of competitive pressures and subdued sales of specific items.”
Specifically, the report said that new work orders rose at the weakest rate since December 2023, output levels at the slowest pace since October 2022, and employment rose at the slowest pace in the last 22 months.
“We have seen a steady spell of softer growth in new export orders,” Pollyanna De Lima, economics associate director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said. “In fact, the share of companies signalling higher international sales in December was about half of the average for 2025.”
The data showed that new export orders rose the least in 14 months in December 2025. The report added that, in the few cases where growth was anticipated, the orders came from clients in Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
“Indian goods producers foresee an increase in output during 2026 relative to present levels, but the overall level of sentiment faded to its lowest in close to three-and-a-half years,” the report said.
Published – January 02, 2026 11:28 am IST
