Subdued growth to continue in manufacturing: Ficci

Industry body Ficci today said the subdued growth in manufacturing activity would continue in the ongoing third quarter of the current fiscal.

Releasing a survey report here, president of Ficci Naina Lal Kidwai said: "The low or subdued growth is supported primarily by some improvement on the export front. However, there is a rising concern over the cost of credit faced by the manufacturers as compared to previous similar surveys."

Ficci had conducted the survey among the respondents which were primarily industry leaders.

Some sectors like leather, textiles, cement, chemicals and textile machineries would see a upturn, while areas like automobile, capital goods and electronics would witness a sluggish growth, the survey indicated.

Export outlook for manufacturing remained positive in the current quarter as compared to the previous quarter.

Regarding investment, 72% of the respondents said they had no plans for investments in the next six months.

Outlook on hiring also looked bleak for the quarter with 75% of the respondents not likely to add people in the next three months.