The paint industry is a raw material intensive industry and the cost of raw materials accounts for around 50-60% of the total cost of production and hence the profit of the industry players swings with the material. As the paint industry in India is highly competitive, players do not have the luxury of enjoying high gross margins for long. The price of finished goods would fall once expensive inventories are exhausted and the industry gradually benefits from lower raw material prices. Leading manufacturer Asian Paints debuted a 2% price cut effective March 1, 2015. GrowthThe growth rate is estimated at more than 2 times GDP for decorative products. Given the rule of thumb of 2x GDP growth, the Indian paint industry is expected to grow between 8.5-9.4% in FY 2013-14. This strong growth can be attributed to volume growth due to increased market penetration efforts. players in the sector.