Manufacturing sentiment remains upbeat in Q3, Q4 for FY24: Ficci survey

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry's (Ficci) latest quarterly survey on manufacturing for Q4 FY24 projected future investment outlook as steady but industry respondents have flagged the availability of raw materials and their escalating prices, uncertainty in global demand, shortage of skilled labour, market volatility, increased power costs, unutilised capacities, and high bank interest rates, as some of the major constraints going forward.

The survey found that 85 per cent of respondents in the current fourth quarter of the financial year 2023-24 are expecting a higher number of orders compared to 73 per cent in the previous quarter. The hiring outlook is expected to remain stable, with around 40 per cent of respondents planning to hire additional workforce in the next three months.

The Ficci survey has suggested an extension of the FAME subsidy for Electric Vehicles for at least five years until the ecosystem and supply chain mature. “The current digital process for FAME and processing of FAME subsidy claims are time-consuming, often extending between five to six months. Streamlining this process would benefit original equipment manufacturers (OEMs),” the survey noted.

The survey has drawn responses from over 400 manufacturing units from both large and small and medium enterprise (SME) segments with a combined annual turnover of over Rs 3.4 trillion.