Industrial production growth slumps to 1.7% in December

Industrial production in the country grew at a slow pace of 1.7 per cent in December 2014 against the 3.8 per cent growth recorded in November 2014, pulled down by a 3.2-per cent decline in manufacturing activity.

Industrial production, as measured by the index of industrial production (IIP), had contracted by 0.6 per cent in the same month of the previous year.

For the April-December period of the 2014-15 fiscal, IIP had expanded at 2.1 per cent, against 0.1 per cent in same period last fiscal.

Growth of production in the mining, manufacturing and electricity sectors in December 2014 stood at (-) 3.2 per cent, 2.1 per cent and 4.8 per cent, respectively, year-on-year while cumulative growth rates for the three sectors during April-December 2014-15 have been estimated at 1.7 per cent, 1.2 per cent and 10.0 per cent, respectively.

Thirteen out of the 22 industry groups in the manufacturing sector have shown positive growth during December 2014, with the industry group 'Furniture manufacturing' showing the highest positive growth of 45.4 per cent, followed by 'Wearing apparel, dressing and dyeing of fur' (17.6 per cent), and 'Luggage, handbags, saddlery, harness and footwear, tanning and dressing of leather products' (16.7 per cent).

On the other hand, the industry group 'Radio, TV and communication equipment and apparatus' has shown the highest negative growth of (-) 70.4 per cent, followed by 'Office, accounting and computing machinery' (-34.0 per cent) and 'Medical, precision and optical instruments, watches and clocks' (-11.1 per cent).

Basic goods production grew 2.4 per cent year-on-year in December while capital goods recorded a growth of 4.1 per cent and intermediate goods 0.1 per cent.'

Production of consumer durables and consumer non-durables registered growth rates of (-) 9.0 per cent and 5.7 per cent, respectively, with the overall growth in consumer goods being 0.7 per cent.