Industrial output contracts 0.1% in March to lowest in 21 months as manufacturing sector growth slows down

New Delhi: India’s industrial production contracted by 0.1 percent in March this year, the lowest in 21 months, mainly due to manufacturing sector slowdown, official data showed Friday. Factory output, as measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), had grown by 5.3 percent in March 2018, according to data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). IIP’s previous low was recorded in June 2017, when output shrank by 0.3 percent. [caption id=“attachment_82632” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] On annual basis, IIP growth slowed to three-year low of 3.6 percent in the 2018-19 fiscal as against 4.4 percent in the previous fiscal. Industrial production growth was 4.6 percent and 3.3 percent in 2016-17 and 2015-16, respectively. Meanwhile, IIP growth for February 2019 has been revised downwards to 0.07 percent from 0.1 percent earlier. The manufacturing sector, which constitutes 77.63 percent of the IIP, contracted by 0.4 percent in March as compared to 5.7 percent expansion in the year-ago month. Capital goods output declined by 8.7 percent in the month under review as against 3.1 percent contraction in March 2018. Power sector growth slowed to 2.2 percent in March as compared to 5.9 percent a year ago. Mining sector growth also dropped to 0.8 percent in March compared to 3.1 percent expansion a year ago. As per use-based classification, growth rates in March 2019 are 2.5 percent in primary goods, (-) 2.5 percent in intermediate goods and 6.4 percent in infrastructure/ construction goods. Similarly, consumer durables and consumer non-durables have recorded growth of (-) 5.1 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively. In terms of industries, 12 out of 23 industry groups in the manufacturing sector have shown negative growth during March 2019 as compared to same month a year ago.