The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today launched its Industrial Outlook Survey for April-June, 2011 period to gauge the progress of the manufacturing sector that has pulled down industrial growth.
The survey would give an insight into the perception of the public and private companies engaged in manufacturing activities about their own performance and their prospects, the RBI said in a statement.
The RBI has been conducting this survey since 1998. The findings of the survey provides useful forward looking inputs for policymakers, analysts and businesses.
The RBI has mandated the Centre for Research Planning and Action (CERPA) for conducting the survey in the current quarter.
The CERPA would get in touch with several manufacturing companies during this quarter for seeking their feedback, the statement said.
"The assessment of business sentiments for the current quarter and expectations for the ensuing quarter are based on qualitative responses to 20 major parameters covering overall business and financial situations, demand indicators, price and employment expectations, profit margins..." it added.
The survey is being conducted at a time when the country's manufacturing sector is witnessing slowdown with expansion plummeting to 3.5% in February, 2011, from 16.1% a year ago.
The poor show from the manufacturing sector also pulled down the countries index of industrial production (IIP) to 3.6% in February, compared to 15.1% in the year-ago period.
