Growth in manufacturing slowed to the lowest rate in seven months, as increasing Covid-19 cases hit demand, said IHS Markit’s purchasing managers index (PMI) on Monday. PMI fell from 57.5 in February to a seven-month low of 55.4 in March. In PMI lexicon, a reading above 50 means growth and the one below 50 shows contraction. The data came on a day the Reserve Bank of India s monetary policy committee sits for deciding the policy rate. The decision will be made on Wednesday. Survey participants indicated that demand growth was constrained by the escalation of the COVID-19 pandemic, while the rise in input buying was curtailed by an intensification of cost pressures, said Pollyanna De Lima, economics associate director at IHS Markit.