The persistent slowdown in the Indian economy is forcing an increasing number of companies to postpone their investment plans.

India's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki on Tuesday said that the commissioning of its proposed Rs 4,000 crore Gujarat manufacturing facility could be postponed by at least a year.

The manufacturer had originally planned to commission the facility by FY2015-16.

R. C. Bhargava, the chairman of Maruti Suzuki, said, "It is unlikely that we would be able to commission the Gujarat plant even by the end of FY'16. The slowdown in the auto sector is very acute."

Mr. Bhargava added that the company would weigh up the sales projections and accordingly take a decision on the proposed plant's commissioning schedule. He was speaking to media persons after the company's 32nd Annual General Meeting (AGM).

Poor growth of consumer demand has hit almost all sectors of Indian industry, forcing companies to either ditch or postpone their investment plans.

A few weeks back, home appliances manufacturer Whirlpool announced its decision to defer its capacity expansion plans for its Faridabad, Pune and Pondicherry plants. Earlier, in the month of July, Zuari Fertilizers & Chemicals said it had pushed back its plans to set up a 1.3 mtpa urea plant in Karnataka.