Industrial output contracts 1.8 percent in October

New Delhi  :  India’s industrial output contracted by 1.8 percent during October — from a year-on-year growth of 8.4 percent in the corresponding month of last year — due to poor performance of the mining and manufacturing sectors, government data showed Thursday.

Factory output measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) had grown by two percent in September.

The cumulative growth of the industrial production for the April-October period year-on-year was at a standstill from a growth of about 1.2 percent in the corresponding period of last fiscal, according to data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) here.

Mining output in October declined by 3.5 percent as against negative growth of 0.2 percent in the corresponding month of last year. Mining output in September had risen by 3.3 percent.

Cumulative mining production from April-October was in negative. The output during April-October 2013-14 declined to 2.7 percent from a negative growth of 1.00 percent.

Manufacturing production registered a decline of two percent during the month under review from a gain of 9.9 percent in October 2012. In September, the sector’s output grew by 0.6 percent.

The sector’s output during the April-October period fell by 0.3 percent from a growth of 1.1 percent during the corresponding period of 2012-13.

The electricity sector reported an increase of 1.3 percent in October from 5.5 percent recorded in the corresponding month of last year. In September, the sector had registered a healthy increase of 12.9 percent.

Cumulatively, the sector’s output increased by 5.3 percent from a growth of 4.7 percent during April-October period of last year.

Segment-wise growth was witnessed in cable, rubber insulated (143.1 percent), air conditioner-room (54.7 percent), motorcycles (21.3 percent), scooters and mopeds (20.9 percent), tractors (22.2 percent), razor blades or safety blades (21.5 percent), steel structures (28.8 percent) and dyes (21 percent).

Segment-wise, high negative growth was reported in sugar (-71.4 percent), earth moving machinery (-51.2 percent), commercial vehicles (-22.6 percent), kerosene (-24.2 percent), boilers (-47.2 percent), gems and jewellery (-39.3 percent), Colour TV (-25.2 percent), sugar machinery (-32.7 percent) and telephone instruments (-23.5 percent).

As per use-based classification, basic goods witnessed a contraction of 1.6 percent. However, capital goods gained by 2.3 percent and intermediate goods segment registered a growth of 1.8 percent.