Industrial production growth jumps to 16-month high of 11.7% in October

According to official figures issued on Tuesday, India’s industrial production growth increased to a 16-month high of 11.7% in October, mostly because the manufacturing, electricity, and mining sectors had double-digit increases in output. In October 2022, the growth of industrial output as shown by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) had decreased by 4.1%. June 2022 saw the previous peak of IIP growth, which was measured at 12.6%. The IIP increase for the April–October 2023–2024 period comes out to 6.9%, which is higher than the 5.3% growth for the same time last year. After being released last month as provisional estimates of 5.8%, the IIP for September 2023 was updated to 6.2%. “India’s IIP growth rate rises to a 16-month high of 11.7 per cent in October 2023,” an official statement said. Additionally, it said that growth rates during the same period in the prior year should be understood with the unique conditions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic since March 2020. According to the National Statistical Office’s (NSO) IIP data, the manufacturing sector’s production expanded by 10.4% in October 2023 after contracting by 5.8% the previous year. In October 2023, power generation increased by 20.4%, compared to a gain of 1.2% during the same period last year. Comparing the month under review to the same month last year, mining output increased by 13.1% as opposed to 2.6%. The capital goods segment increased by 22.6% in October of this year according to use-based classification, as opposed to a 2.4 per cent contraction in the year-ago month. During the month, the output of consumer durables increased by 15.9% compared to a decrease of 18.1%. The output of consumer non-durable goods grew by 8.6% as opposed to contracting by 13% the previous year. Products related to infrastructure and building saw an increase of 11.3% compared to a 1.7% expansion. The information also revealed that, in comparison to the same period last year, the output of primary goods increased by 11.4% in the month. October’s intermediate goods output increased by 9.7% compared to a 2.3% growth decline in the same month the previous year. (With agency inputs)