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Reserve Bank of India (RBI) article 'Impact of COVID-19 on Sentiments of Indian Manufacturers' published in RBI bulletin has said that the manufacturing sector will need continued policy support for smoother and faster recovery to attain the long-term trend path. Although, it said the sector may soon attain its pre-COVID level, the process of attaining the long-term trend levels may take some time. It said that just when the manufacturers' outlook started looking up, the COVID-19-induced lockdown measures slowed down the revival process.

The article further said the pandemic affected the producers' sentiments negatively by bringing down various parameters to historic lows. It said although the major macroeconomic variables are supposed to achieve their pre-COVID trend in near-term with improvement in demand conditions, they are expected to take time to return to their long-term trend path. It further said the accelerated rollout of vaccines, 2022-23 Budget proposals and other reforms are expected to provide a strong impetus for revival of the economy and will facilitate regaining of the growth potential over the medium-term.

As per the article, the first and second waves of the pandemic slowed down the economic activity, and the perception of the manufacturers was impacted adversely. It said the conditions improved with gradual resumption of normalcy. Concurrently, it said the subsequent waves of the pandemic and the reimposition of virus containment measures may dampen the manufacturers' sentiments and slow down the recovery process.