India’s industrial production down 2.1 per cent in November

Industrial production in the country contracted by 2.1 per cent in November 2013, hitting the lowest level in the past six months, pushed down by poor performance of manufacturing sector and lower output of consumer goods, particularly white goods, belying hopes of a recovery in the near future.

Industrial production as measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) having its base (2004-05=100) had declined by 2.5 per cent in May 2013.

IIP for October 2013 had contracted by 1.57 per cent as per revised estimates against the provisional estimate of 1.8 per cent decline projected earlier. IIP had declined by one per cent in November 2012.

For the April-November period of the financial year ending March 2014 industrial production in the country contracted by 0.2 per cent, against a growth of 0.9 per cent in the same period of 2012-13, quick estimates of the index of industrial production (IIP) released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed.

Manufacturing sector, which constitutes over 75 per cent of the index, declined by 3.5 per cent in November as against a contraction of 0.8 per cent a year ago. During April-November, the sector's output contracted 0.6 per cent compared to a growth of 0.9 per cent in same period in 2012.

Consumer goods production declined by 8.7 per cent in November compared to a contraction of 0.3 per cent in the same month in 2012. During April-November, 2013, consumer goods production contracted by 2.6 per cent compared with 3.6 per cent growth in the corresponding period last fiscal ended March 2013.

Production of consumer durables contracted by 21.5 per cent in November against a growth of 1.1 per cent in November 2012. During April-November, consumer durables production had declined by 12.6 per cent compared with a growth of 5.2 per cent the same period in 2012.

Ten out of 22 industry groups in the manufacturing sector have shown negative growth during November 2013.

Overall production of consumer non-durables was up 2.5 per cent in November against a contraction of 1.5 per cent in the same month in 2012. During April-November 2013, the segment's growth was 6.3 per cent compared to 2.3 per cent growth in the same period in 2012.

The mining sector, with a weight of about 14 per cent in IIP, grew by one per cent in November as against a dip of 5.5 per cent in the same month in 2012. However, during April-November, mining output shrank by 2.2 per cent against a contraction of 1.6 per cent in the same period of the previous financial year.

Power generation posted a growth of 6.3 per cent in November 2013, compared to a 2.4 per cent growth in the same month of 2012. Power generation expanded 5.4 per cent in April-November as compared to 4.4 per cent in the same period in 2012.

Capital goods production, a barometer of industrial activity, showed a growth of 0.3 per cent in November 2013 compared to a contraction of 8.5 per cent in the same month a year ago. The segment declined by 0.1 per cent in April-November as against a sharp contraction of 11.3 per cent in the comparable period.

Production of intermediate goods expanded 3.3 per cent in November against a contraction of 1.4 per cent in November 2012. During April-November, production in the segment grew 2.7 per cent compared with a 1.8 per cent growth in the same period last year.

Basic goods production grew 0.7 per cent in November compared to a 1.1 per cent growth in November 2012. During April-November, the segment grew 0.7 per cent against a 2.8 per cent growth in the same period a year ago.