Industrial production down 1.8 per cent in June

Industrial production in the country was down 1.8 per cent in June 2012 compared to its level in June 2011, contracting for a third time in the four months, pulled down by declining manufacturing output.

The general index of industrial production (IIP) for June 2012 stood at 168.3, 1.8 per cent lower compared to the level in June 2011, quick estimates released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed.

Cumulative growth for the April-June 2012-13 period stood at (-)0.1 per cent year-on-year.

Finance minister P Chidambaram said the IIP figures for June 2012 are disappointing. He said the focus should now shift to critical sectors and bottlenecks should be removed to give a fillip to production.

Production levels in the mining, manufacturing and electricity sectors registered growth rates of 0.6 per cent, (-) 3.2 per cent and 8.8 per cent, respectively, with corresponding indices of 124.3, 178.1 and 157.0, respectively, in June 2012.

Cumulative year-on-year growth rates in the three sectors during April-June 2012-13 were (-) 1.1 per cent, (-)0.7 per cent and 6.4 per cent, respectively.