Mumbai, Nov 22 (IANS): Share of manufacturing in India's gross domestic product (GDP) has declined to 15.1 percent this year, the lowest level in the past 10 years, a research report showed Friday.

According to a survey conducted jointly by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Boston Consulting Group, 83 percent executive directors of companies that participated in the survey feel that slowdown in domestic demand had the biggest impact on India's manufacturing sector in the past 12 months.

More than 75 executive directors of manufacturing companies in India participated in the survey. The report was released on the eve of the 12th Manufacturing Summit organised here by the CII.

“It is necessary for manufacturing companies to step back and filter out the structural trends effecting manufacturing from the noise of day-to-day fire-fighting,” Jamshyd N. Godrej, chairman and managing director, Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing, said in the report.

“We believe that the context of manufacturing has changed. The new environment is characterised by shocks, swings and shortages,” said Godrej, who is also the chairman CII 12th Manufacturing Summit.

Despite the recent slowdown, long-term prospects of the Indian manufacturing sector remain robust, the report said.