New Delhi: India's industrial output rose at a meagre 0.6 per cent in February against an expansion of 4.3 per cent in the corresponding month of 2011-12, government data showed on Friday.
Barring consumer goods, all other sectors of the industrial output basket declined. The performances of the mining, electricity and consumer non-durables sectors were disappointing, indicating the continuing slowdown in Asia's third largest economy.
The industrial output, as measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), had increased 2.4 per cent in January against a contraction of 0.6 per cent, which at that time had given indication of a revival.
Earlier on Feb 7, the CSO revised India's economic growth to 5 per cent in the current financial year, the lowest in a decade, due to poor performance of manufacturing, agriculture as well as services sector.
In its advance estimate of national income, the CSO had drastically cut the gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast to 5 per cent for the year ending March 31, 2013, as compared to 6.2 per cent in the previous year.
However, Finance Minister P Chidambaram later said the GDP growth during the current fiscal would be about 5.5 per cent rather than 5 per cent that the CSO projected.
The mining output in February declined by a massive 8.1 per cent from an increase of 2.3 per cent in the corresponding month of last year. It had slumped by 2.9 per cent in January, 2013.
While the cumulative mining production was in the negative. The output during April-February, 2012-13, stood at a decline of 2.5 per cent. The electricity sector too did not fare well, falling 3.2 per cent from a healthy increase of eight percent in February, 2012. The sector's output had increased by 6.4 per cent last month.
Cumulatively, the sector's output slowed at a four percent growth rate from 8.7 per cent achieved during the corresponding period of 2011-12.
However, the manufacturing production registered a growth of 2.2 per cent during the month under review. The growth was slower than that achieved in the corresponding month of last year when the output stood at 4.1 per cent.
The consumer goods output saw a growth of 0.5 per cent, compared to a 0.4 percent decline in same month last year.
The factory output registered a cumulative growth of 0.9 per cent in April-February 2, 2012-13 period year-on-year, the data released by the CSO showed.
Segment-wise, high negative growth was reported in biscuits (-26.8 per cent), grinding wheels (-34.2 per cent), stamping and forging (-24.4 per cent), machine tools (- 51.9 per cent), earth moving machinery (-20.00 per cent) and commercial vehicles (-23.6 per cent).
Segment-wise growth was witnessed in Cashew kernels (83.4 per cent), apparels (16.00 per cent), leather garments (39.6 per cent), ship, building and repairs (105.4 per cent), conductor, aluminium (66.00 per cent) and cable, rubber insulated (188.5 per cent).
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