MUMBAI, March 1 (Xinhua) -- India's manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) declined marginally in February to 57.5 from 57.7 in the preceding month of January, as production could not back the rise in orders, as per the survey released on Monday.

The marginal decline during the month under review follows a near eight-year peak in manufacturing reported in January that was driven by a sharp rise in new business orders and bounce back in demand, as per the survey conducted by IHS Markit, that measures the index.

"Indian goods producers reported a healthy inflow of new orders in February, a situation that underpinned a further upturn in output and quantity of purchases. Still, the data indicated that production growth could have been stronger should firms have appropriate resources to handle their workloads," said Pollyanna De Lima, Economics Associate Director at IHS Markit.

While the pace of expansion eased from January, it was sharp and among the quickest seen over the past nine years, said the IHS Markit statement.

February data showed the strongest increase in input inventories in the survey history as firms reacted to rising production needs by lifting purchasing activity while the expansion in input buying was the fastest in almost a decade.

While the rate of inflation was modest in February and eased from January's 13-month high, the payroll numbers fell further for the 11th successive month due to the government's strict COVID-19 guidelines. Enditem

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