NEW DELHI--A gauge of manufacturing-sector activity in India contracted for the first time in more than two years in December, adding to evidence of a brake on the country's economic recovery.

The seasonally adjusted India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, prepared by Markit, fell to 49.1 in December, dipping below the 50 mark, which separates expansion and contraction, for the first time since October 2013, according to Nikkei research released Monday. It was at 50.3 in November.