India’s factory output declined again in January, by (-)1.53 per cent, dipping further from the (-)1.18 per cent fall logged in December, official data showed on Friday. The negative show for the third straight month was due mainly to the manufacturing sector.
The January IIP was dragged lower by a (-)2.8 per cent drop in manufacturing activity.
In comparison, there was a growth of 2.8 per cent in January 2014.
As per data on index of industrial production (IIP) released by the Central Statistics Office, the country’s factory output logged a cumulative growth of 2.7 per cent rise in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year.
Cumulative growth during the corresponding period of last fiscal also stood at 2.6 per cent.
“The general index for January 2016 stands at 186.3, which is 1.5 per cent lower, as compared to the level in January 2015. The cumulative growth for the period April-January 2015-16 over the corresponding period of the previous year stands at 2.7 per cent,” an official statement said.
The January IIP was dragged lower by a (-)2.8 per cent drop in manufacturing activity. Between the other broader indices, electricity production rose by 6.6 per cent, while that for mining was up by 1.2 per cent.
The high negative contributors to the dip in the overall index included cables, insulated rubber, antibiotics, stainless and alloy steels, sponge iron and passenger Cars.
Electricity, commercial vehicles, mobile phones, cement and gems and jewellery were positive contributors.
“In terms of industries, 10 out of the 22 groups in the manufacturing sector have shown negative growth during January 2016 as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year,” said the statement.
Looking further at the use-based classification of six industries, the index for capital goods was down as much as 20.4 per cent, while that for consumer non-durables was down 3.1. Consumer goods sub-index remained unchanged.
However, basic goods, intermediate goods and consumer durables recorded gains of 1.8 per cent, 2.7 per cent and 5.8 per cent, respectively.