New Delhi, Mar 2 (PTI) India's manufacturing sector activity growth jumped to a four-month high of 56.9 in February, supported by substantial improvement in domestic demand even as growth in new export orders witnessed a decline, a monthly survey said on Monday.

The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose from 55.4 in January to a four-month high of 56.9 in February.

In the PMI parlance, a print above 50 means expansion, while a score below 50 denotes contraction.

"India's final manufacturing PMI reflected an acceleration in manufacturing activity in February. Output expanded at a faster rate for a second month, supported by stronger domestic orders," Pranjul Bhandari, Chief India Economist at HSBC, said.

Goods producers indicated that demand buoyancy, marketing initiatives and rising client requirements underpinned another expansion in new business intakes.

"According to panel members, efficiency improvements, healthy underlying demand, rising intakes of new work and tech investment collectively boosted production volumes," the survey said.

One area where growth took a step back was new export orders. Where external sales rose, monitored companies cited gains from Asia, Europe the Middle East and the US.

"Growth in new export orders continued its slowing trend that began in mid-2025, somewhat restricting employment creation in the manufacturing sector," Bhandari said.

On the price front, cost pressures remained benign, rising at a moderate rate that matched the level seen in January.

With total new orders continuing to expand sharply, manufacturers in India purchased additional materials to supplement production and add to inventories.

In response to increasing workloads, firms stepped up input purchasing, lifted their inventories and hired extra staff.

Meanwhile, year-ahead assessments of output volumes remained positive as 16 per cent of companies forecast growth and fewer than 1 per cent anticipate a reduction.

Boding well to the outlook were marketing efforts and favourable demand conditions, the qualitative survey data showed.

The HSBC India Manufacturing PMI is compiled by S&P Global from responses to questionnaires sent to purchasing managers in a panel of around 400 manufacturers. PTI DRR HVA

Manufacturing activity growth driven by stronger domestic demand despite slower export orders, prompting higher input buying and hiring. Manufacturing activity accelerated to a four-month high as stronger domestic demand supported faster output growth and higher new business intakes; firms increased input purchasing, inventories and hiring. New export orders continued to slow, somewhat constraining employment creation. Cost pressures remained moderate, and forward-looking sentiment was positive with many manufacturers expecting higher output over the year ahead.